Aquaculture’s challenges must not be swept under the rug | Opinion
Kelsey Fenwick lives in St. George.
Academic institutions have a responsibility not only to educate, but to present complex issues fairly and accurately. At a recent conference I attended, however, a program intended to promote lifelong learning instead presented a one-sided perspective on a complex and controversial issue affecting Maine’s coast: aquaculture.
The Wishcamper Center’s SAGE program at the University of Southern Maine describes its mission as providing lifelong learning opportunities for adults aged 50 and older. I believe a recent presentation fell short of that educational mission by featuring Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA), without adequately addressing the significant controversies surrounding the industry he represents.
The MAA purports to promote “economically and environmentally sustainable business practices” and has described its advocacy for clean water in strong terms. The presentation, however, did not acknowledge or address alleged Clean Water Act violations and pending litigation involving Cooke Aquaculture, a major player in Maine’s aquaculture industry.
Nor did it address concerns about the ownership and financial interests behind Maine shellfish aquaculture operations, including reports of oyster aquaculture lease interests being controlled by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, a multibillion-dollar foreign institutional investor. These issues deserve scrutiny in any discussion of the industry’s environmental and economic sustainability.
The presentation emphasized the need to produce more food, particularly protein, citing population growth, changing diets, land constraints and limits on water resources. Those are legitimate considerations. But a meaningful discussion of sustainability must also examine the environmental and economic trade-offs of expanding industrial-scale aquaculture.
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Belle acknowledged that sustainability does not mean having no environmental impact. Nevertheless, the presentation did not address the potential adverse effects of aquaculture on local fishermen, native species, marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
Nor did the conference give sufficient attention to who benefits economically. Cooke Aquaculture operates internationally, and its global scale raises legitimate questions about how much of the economic value generated by its Maine operations remains in Maine and how much flows to interests elsewhere.
The economic and environmental sustainability of open-water salmon aquaculture cannot be assessed solely by examining the environmental effects of net pens in Maine waters. It also requires examining the wild fish used to produce salmon feed, the ecological consequences of removing those fish from marine food webs and whether fish that could feed people directly are instead being diverted to produce a higher-value export commodity. Belle’s presentation acknowledged none of these factors.
Nor did the presentation address Maine’s continued allowance of finfish open net-pen aquaculture, a practice that has been prohibited or phased out in all other coastal states. That distinction is relevant to any balanced assessment of Maine’s approach to the industry.
Maine is fortunate to have an exceptional seafood tradition and independent harvesters whose livelihoods are closely tied to the health of our coastal waters. We should encourage people to support locally harvested, wild seafood while carefully evaluating the environmental and economic consequences of expanding aquaculture. Claims of sustainability should be examined critically, particularly when the interests being represented include large, internationally operating businesses.
In my view, the USM Wishcamper Center’s programming did the public a disservice by presenting an industry advocate’s perspective without adequately exploring the competing evidence and concerns.
Inviting industry representatives to speak is entirely appropriate. Presenting their views as an educational opportunity, however, carries a responsibility to provide context, ask difficult questions and make room for other perspectives.
Lifelong learning should equip Mainers to think critically about consequential public issues, not leave them with an incomplete picture.
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