Recently the Legislature’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources heard testimony on LD 508. This bill would appoint an independent group to review Maine’s aquaculture permitting laws and determine if changes are needed to “better consider climate change, habitat connectivity, ecological resilience and the coastal marine environment.”

The costs and risks of finfish aquaculture are staggering. In recognition, bans on ocean-based salmon farming have been implemented along the entire Pacific coast of North America, in Denmark, and in Argentina. To discourage ocean pens, even Norway (the world’s largest salmon producer) recently imposed a 40 percent tax on ocean-raised salmon. In March, Nova Scotia put a moratorium on ocean pens.