A7HK2D North America, US, ME, Aerial. Porcupine Islands in Frenchman Bay.

Welcome to Friends of Frenchman Bay. Thanks for your interest. We need you!.

Frenchman Bay is a breathtaking and wild ecosystem, bound on two sides by Acadia National Park. Friends of Frenchman Bay is a group of people who live in towns around the Bay or visit this unique spot on earth. Our current primary effort is to protect Frenchman Bay from newly proposed large scale industrial fish farming in the bay.  We value the dark starry skies, the marine life, the cold, clear waters, and clean air.

https://www.instagram.com/p/COxn4YYLw4_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Industrial Salmon Farm

  • “When built, American Aquafarms’ plant in Maine will be the world’s largest full-cycle aquaculture facility based on closed cages in the sea.”  (These are actually semi-closed, NOT closed containment)- quote from Intrafish trade publication 3/31/21 

Save the Bay Flotilla   

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/23/magazine/are-sprawling-fish-farms-coming-swallow-maine/

10/28/21  DEP Meeting (zoom):

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hosted a meeting for the public to comment on the wastewater discharge anticipated from the two 60-acre salmon farms proposed by American Aquafarms in Frenchman Bay. The meeting was held via Zoom on Thursday, October 28, 2021 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All participants spoke against the project, each one given 3 minutes. While this meeting was not part of the regulatory review, it was an important opportunity for all of us to express our concerns about the more than 4 billion gallons of wastewater flowing from the proposed salmon farms each day.
 

Below are links- (first is the DMR Aquaculture lease criteria)

https://www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/documents/decisioncriteria.pdf

Link to PDF Why we need to stop this:

https://44091146-201a-4fb7-83d1-6c55cd66b050.filesusr.com/ugd/cff342_c71241adc16d4287905697665b98b2db.pdf

https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.230.230/ebg.540.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/American-Aquafarms-opposition-update-6.30.21.pdf

NPCA fact sheet

Top concerns

https://friendsoffrenchmanbay.org/2021/04/save-the-bay-stop-the-fish-farm/

 
The DMR deemed the application complete intially, but complications regarding where the salmon eggs were coming from has changed the application back to incomplete status. AA is asking that they be given exemptions from the strict rules applying to current certification of egg suppliers. It was not a public hearing, which is required once the DMR deems the applications complete.
(Here’s the answer AA has given regarding the source of salmon eggs. AA response:

 

American Aquafarms is confident that the eggs from AquaBounty will meet Chapter 24 requirements and
has attached a table from the preliminary review of the testing regime at AquaBounty supporting the
decision to move forward with AquaBounty as the egg supplier for the project.)
 
The DEP application is in process. DEP has determined as of 7/30/21 that a public hearing is not necessary on this project (see above). 
 
Here is a link to the very large volume of application materials: https://www.maine.gov/dep/ftp/projects/american-aquafarms/applications/mepdes/   

 

We know that large scale fish farming in the bay will forever change the intrinsic natural qualities that make Frenchman Bay a beloved national treasure, and threatens the generational livelihoods of lobstermen (and women) of the bay . Two Aquaculture sites of 60 and 60 acres, composed of 30 pens, each 150 feet wide (the green squares in this map), raising 66 million pounds of salmon annually, are proposed for large industrialized salmon farms off the Porcupines and near bald rock. No environmental assessments have yet been undertaken. Click on our Industrial Fin Fish Farm page to learn more: https://friendsoffrenchmanbay.org/industrial-fin-fish-farm/

Please contact us through our Facebook page or via the email icon on this page. Donations are accepted by donate button on this site or at Friends of Frenchman Bay, Box 53, Hancock, Maine, 04640.

We are an all volunteer Community Association.

We continue to stand against an outsized cruise ship pier previously proposed for Bar Harbor.

These gifts of unspoiled nature cannot be assessed in financial terms. “Once destroyed, nature’s beauty cannot be repurchased at any price.” – Ansel Adams