Whole Oceans – the company building a recirculating aquaculture system in Bucksport, Maine, U.S.A. to farm salmon – announced on 25 October that Jason Mitchell will assume the primary operating role from former CEO Rob Piasio.
Mitchell was previously serving as the Chief Operating Officer for Whole Oceans, and was appointed by the company’s board of managers. Piasio, the company’s founder, will continue to serve on the company’s board, but has stepped out of the CEO role.
“I am honored to receive this vote of confidence from the Board and look forward to building on the company’s achievements,” Mitchell said. “A project of this scale takes time, but we are making great progress. I am looking forward to continuing to work closely with our team and the town of Bucksport as we move through the permitting process toward construction next spring.”
Mitchell has had extensive experience in operations management and manufacturing. Previously, he held positions at General Dynamics, most recently as the director of production at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. He was also the founder and co-owner of San Diego-based Helms Brewing Company, which he sold in 2017.
Whole Oceans hopes to establish the RAS facility on the former site of the Verso paper mill. The first phase, which is being transitioned from development to execution, is expected to cost USD 75 million (EUR 65.9 million). The first phase’s production capacity is expected to be 5,000 metric tons of Atlantic salmon annually.
Recently, the company hired a chief production officer, and a chief financial officer. Whole Oceans also recently filed a waste discharge permit with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, with other permits still pending with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and Bucksport. Production is expected to begin sometime in 2019.
