Maine

A Norway-based company wants to build a 40-acre land-based salmon factory farm, in Belfast, Maine. And Belfast city officials are keen to green light the $450 - $550-million project.

But a group of local citizens—Local Citizens for SMART Growth—have a lot of questions about whether the project is good for the environment, good for their city, or good for the state of Maine.

Analysis of proposed $150-million salmon factory farm in Belfast, Maine

Scale of the project:  The land-based industrial fish farm being planned by Nordic Aqua Farms (NAF) would be one of the largest in the world, raising between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of salmon a year at full production. Many questions about the operation of such a facility can only be answered in theoretical models. A land-based industrial salmon farm of this magnitude has not been built and is not in operation at this point in time. 

Siting and Zoning of the

The Source Award is not the first time Neil Lash’s work has been recognized, by any means. In 2017 he received a National Award of Excellence from the National Garden Clubs, and in 2015, his students won a $20,000 grant from Seeds of Change, an organic seed company (they used the money to buy a new walk-in freezer to store the precious seeds). In early May, a film crew from John’s Hopkins University’s Center for a Livable Future will come to Waldoboro to shoot footage for a documentary about sustainability and food systems.

According to Senator Susan Collins, organic farming is one of the fastest growing sectors in American agriculture, but federal investment hasn't been keeping pace with the growth.

Senator Collins, along with Senator Bob Casey from Pennsylvia, have introduced the Organic Agriculture Research Act of 2018.

"What the act would do is provide some funding for research into organic farming methods and help offset part of the cost that the state uses to certify farms as complying with USDA standards for organic farming," said Senator Collins.