Pre-construction work due to begin for land-based salmon farm in Maine
Great Northern Salmon (GNS), which plans a 10,000-tonnes-per-year land-based fish farm in Millinocket, Maine in the northeast of the United States, will commence pre-construction ground preparation in mid-September, it announced today.
“The work entails decanting the water and removing settlement materials in the lagoon, the location of GNS’s future land-based RAS salmon farm,” said GNS chief executive and co-founder Marianne Naess.
“Our close collaboration with the site owner and economic development partner, Our Katahdin, has made it possible to start this work on schedule and progress with the development of our recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility.”
The projected timeline for the pre-construction work is ten months. Successful project completion will provide GNS with a fully prepared site for construction, shortening the construction time by more than six months and eliminating risks associated with excavation, blasting, etc., said the company. Geotechnical work on site has also confirmed the glacial till substrate will support the facility’s weight.
“Remediation and reuse of the former settlement lagoons on the One North industrial campus is an important milestone for GNS and the local community,” said Steve Sanders, One North’s director of mill site development. “It is a clear, tangible signal to our partners and supporters that this project is a step towards new investment and renewed industry in our region.”
“We want to thank Our Katahdin and its partners for their commitment to the success of this project and for creating the conditions that have helped us to reach this milestone. Local support is paramount for succeeding in this sector in the US today,” said Naess.
The project, which will create 80 full-time local jobs at full production capacity, has received financial support from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), the Northern Borders Regional Commission (NBRC), Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC), and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
GNS is now working on closing Series A fundraising and will start detailed design, scheduling, and final estimation of the facility this autumn.
