Whole Ocean’s proposed Maine-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) salmon farm recently cleared a hurdle when the Maine Department of Environmental Protection granted the company a wastewater discharge permit.
The planned facility, which was announced in February, would be located on the site of a former paper mill in Bucksport, Maine. Whole Oceans has an initial goal to produce 5,000 metric tons of salmon in the RAS facility, with hopes that it can expand to 25,000 MT, or even 50,000 MT, in the coming years.
According to a story in Maine Public, the discharge permit allows for the daily discharge of 18.6 million gallons of treated water. That amount isn’t expected to pose a threat to the environment, but Maine DEP has put some conditions on the permit to make sure no problems arise.
"To ensure that that's the case, we've put a couple things into this permit,” Department of Environmental Protection Chief Brian Kananah told Maine Public. “One of the conditions is the applicant needs to do a dye study, really determine the flow of water in that area, particularly around Verona Island - the two channels around Verona Island, and also there's in-stream nitrogen sampling going on."
Acquiring the permit comes in the wake of the company hiring and transitioning to a new president – former chief operating officer Jason Mitchell – in October. In addition, Whole Oceans also recently hired chief financial officer Eric Jacobsson and chief production officer Joel McElwee.
