Land-based fish farming company Nordic Aquafarms is continuing in its bid to establish a land-based facility in the United States, with planning applications open at locations on both the east and west coasts.
The company has been beset with a long series of setbacks in its proposed Belfast, Maine project, which was first announced in 2018.
Most recently, on May 7, the Belfast City Council voted to overturn a 2021 decision that permitted Nordic Aquafarms access to land required for its salmon-farming facility.
The Council had previously ruled that Nordic Aquafarms could run intake and drainage pipes from its facility to the sea by imposing an "eminent domain" order enabling the state to acquire the land needed for the project. However, private landowners have since disputed the ruling.
With the eminent domain order now voted down, the future of the project is once again cast into doubt, although company spokesperson Jackie Cassada said Nordic Aquafarms "will find another way", according to local news broadcaster News Center Maine. One alternative is to switch to a zero-discharge recirculating aquaculture system, Cassada said.
Meanwhile, Nordic Aquafarms has been pursuing an alternative land-based project 3,400 miles to the west, proposing a smaller land-based facility to farm yellowtail kingfish in Humboldt County, California.
The California project has so far met with better fortune than its Maine counterpart. In November 2023, the California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a coastal development permit, with special conditions, for wastewater discharge for the proposed project.
On May 8, just one day after the Belfast Council voted down Nordic Aquafarm's land access, the California Coastal Commission granted permission to improve infrastructure on harbour lands, enabling a seawater intake capacity of 11.8 million gallons of water per day -- necessary for the proposed land-based facility, according to local Californian news outlet, The Times Standard.
The Humboldt site was previously occupied by a pulp mill which closed down in 2008. Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is also planning to construct a research and innovation park on the site, the National Marine Research and Innovation Park.
Nordic Aquafarms had originally planned to cultivate salmon in California, just like its planned RAS facility in Belfast, Maine. However, in 2023 it announced it was switching to yellowtail kingfish for its California project.
Its Norwegian parent company, Nordic Aquafarms Group, has three operational yellowtail kingfish farming sites in Norway and Denmark.
“We see a great potential for yellowtail kingfish in the US and we are looking forward to bringing the knowledge from our Scandinavian farms to California. We have good biological results in Scandinavia, the market for this fantastic product is strong, and the property in Humboldt County is unique on the West Coast with its existing infrastructure," said Nordic Aquafarms Group CEO, Bernt Olav Røttingsnes, commenting on the change of strategy in May 2023.
“The US West Coast is the largest market for yellowtail kingfish outside of Japan, and we are looking forward to introducing a locally produced product of high quality to this important market. Within 12 hours of trucking distance, we can serve fresh fish to more than 50 million potential customers,” added Nordic Aquafarms US CEO Brenda Chandler.