Aquaculture America 2020

February 9 - 12, 2020

Honolulu, Hawaii

WHOLE OCEANS: LAND-BASED AQUACULTURE AND INDUSTRIAL REVITALIZATION

 
Jennifer Fortier Ayrey* and Jacob Bartlett
 
Whole Oceans LLC 
PO Box 7561 
Portland, ME 04112 
JFortier@WholeOceans.com 

Whole Oceans, LLC is a Maine-based company constructing a land-based recirculating aquaculture facility in Bucksport, Maine.  In May of 2019 we purchased a parcel of the former Verso paper mill on the Penobscot River.  We plan to complete our facility in multiple phases over the next ten years, beginning with 5,000 metric tonnes annual production of Atlantic salmon and increasing to an estimated 20,000 metric tonnes at full buildout.

Selecting an industrial Brownfield site for a land-based aquaculture facility requires a long diligence period and rigorous evaluation of existing infrastructure.  Land-based aquaculture facilities require significant water and power infrastructure, both of which are available at this site, which operated as a paper mill with several owners from 1934 to 2014.  This site also has access to a nearby deepwater port and is adjacent to a declining railroad spur.  

W e hope that our facility can be a model for others in New England and beyond.  Large scale land-based recirculating aquaculture  has the potential to help revitalize factory towns with distressed infrastructure and provide jobs to help depressed economies thrive again .  We also hope our project will h elp spur additional economic development in the area through  relevant supply and service companies , as well as opportunities for  workforce development including both vocational and academic training programs.