Letter to the Editor
January 26, 2022
MDIslander
To the Editor:
I just finished watching Part 1 of American Aquafarms “Community Conversations” regarding their proposed industrial salmon farm in Frenchman Bay and processing plant in Prospect Harbor. In my opinion, this is not a conversation but a slick video ad. The three men in the ad, a Portland lawyer, the CEO and the project manager of American Aquafarms, reiterated the same information that the company has been putting forth since 2020.
The concerned residents of Frenchman Bay have been asking substantial questions of this company for over a year – questions regarding tidal flow; potential accidents; the effects on the Gouldsboro water table and roads; light, sound and odor pollution in the Bay and on land; the impact on existing jobs such as lobstering, fishing, small aquaculture, recreation and hospitality. I name only a few of the important questions that we have already asked and of which company is aware.
A true conversation is an interactive discussion that can only take place in a live forum, with hard facts and real people. It is time for American Aquafarms to come out from behind the cameras and limited Zoom calls and deal with the communities that they say they will benefit and live with. Susan Bruce Winter Harbor