Maine's high court upholds Kingfish aquaculture permit for Jonesport
Apr. 11—A controversial plan to build a $110 million aquaculture facility in Jonesport can proceed, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled.
The court on Thursday upheld a previous ruling by the Kennebec County Superior Court, which affirmed permits issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to Kingfish Maine in 2021. The company plans to build an aquaculture facility on 93 acres of land near Chandler Bay.
The project was first brought to the community in 2019, the Kingfish Company's global headquarters said in a written statement. It has faced strong opposition from environmental groups in the years since.
Vincent Erenst, Kingfish's chief executive, called the decision "a win for Maine and the United States with regard to seafood production" in a written statement Friday.
Opponents of the Kingfish operation have charged that wastewater from the facility could pollute the nearby Chandler Bay and trigger algae blooms toxic to wildlife. They also challenged whether Kingfish could even use the land, which is permitted for aquaculture but not commercial and industrial uses.
Petitioners who brought the appeal, including the Eastern Maine Conservation Initiative and Roque Island Gardner Homestead Corporation, argued that the Board of Environmental Protection did not consider the full scope of evidence before issuing permits based on the Natural Resources Protection Act.
"We disagree and affirm the judgment," the high court wrote in its decision.
The project is one of several high-profile aquaculture proposals to have faced pushback from Mainers in recent years. In January, the company behind a proposed $500 million development in Belfast dropped the project, citing legal challenges, and was later ordered to pay $125,000 to the advocacy group that fought the project.
But the outlook for Kingfish appeared more secure than other proposals. Even as the appeals process ticked forward, the company received an additional $4 million from the state last year and expressed confidence that it would soon break ground.
Kingfish estimates that once completed the new facility will be able to produce 8,500 metric tons of yellowtail, reducing U.S. reliance on foreign imports, the company said. Kingfish has previously stated that it will bring 70 to 100 jobs to the area.
Last year, Kingfish said it planned to break ground in 2025. But in his statement Friday, Erenst did not offer an update on when that would take place. He said the project's timeline had been significantly delayed by the court battles, and it's no longer clear when the facility will open.
"Now, with the appeals behind us, the project timeline will be determined by current economic and financial conditions, which we are assessing at this time," Erenst said.
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