SOMESVILLE - The Department of the Interior, emboldened by the Biden Administration’s efforts to protect national parklands, is raising serious questions about a proposed industrial salmon farm in Frenchman Bay, QSJ has learned.
“This development is fundamentally different than existing aquaculture operations near the park,” wrote Kevin B. Schneider, park superintendent, in a letter to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. QSJ obtained a copy of the letter today.
“The scale of the development - the equivalent of 16 football fields - is unprecedented in the United States and incongruous with the existing nature and setting of Frenchman Bay and its surrounding lands,” he added.
The letter was submitted Wednesday, July 7, the last day for public comments received by the state Department of Marine Resources.
The letter went on to question the impact of the 120-acre industrial farm on water and air quality, scenic views, night lights, flora and fauna and “natural soundscape.”
You may view the entire letter by clicking here.
Sources said the letter has the imprimatur of Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who was briefed on the matter on her recent visit to Acadia National Park in May, when Yo Yo Ma made a surprise appearance.
American Aquafarms, the applicant, has no connections to Maine other than its consultants and law firm. It is a Nordic enterprise with its entire senior team consisting of seasoned Nordic fish farmers who have said they prized Frenchman Bay because it was the ideal location on the East Coast for their venture to produce 66 million pounds of salmon a year out of two sites consisting of 30 pens.
Last November, Bill Trotter of the Bangor Daily News broke the story that the CEO served time in prison. But most Maine press did not pursue the history.
The CEO Mikael Rønes has a criminal history dating back to 2005 when he defrauded several investors and his own business partner of $8.5 million, according to Norwegian press reports.
His crimes came to light when Norwegian authorities launched an investigation on Jan. 24, 2006 following a tip from Per Sævik, who invested heavily in Rønes’ company, Flatskjermer AS. Rønes is purported to have then resold Flatskjermer AS for about $4 million, but Sævik never received any of his rightful return on investment.
It took authorities only two weeks to gather sufficient evidence of fraud, and Rønes was initially arrested on Feb. 7, 2006.
After the arrest, Knut Axel Uglandas, a shipping billionaire and Rønes’ former business partner, told authorities about another case. On Feb. 10, 2006, Rønes, finalized sales of all his shares of the furniture company Hjellegjerde. He had begun the process before his initial arrest. Rønes owned more than 27 percent of the company's total stock before the selloff. The shares were sold to Brutel AS, which is owned in full by Ander Ivar Olsen.
Rønes did not go through the proper channels for this sale, according to press reports, and did not get any of the necessary pre-approval or alert the Norwegian government to the trade. He was charged with insider trading as a consequence of the sale. The investigation into his criminal activity was again expanded on March 6, 2006 to encompass an additional $5.9 million in fraud.
On Jan. 9, 2008 Knut Axel Uglandas, Rønes’ former friend and business partner, spoke to the court about the sheer scale of the damage done by Rønes, including borrowing $280,000 of Uglandas’ personal funds to purchase a house in the year leading up the charges. Uglandas also testified that Rønes often misrepresented himself or even committed identity theft in the course of defrauding people.
The total fraud of more than $8 million, plus additional crimes, was one of the largest economic crimes in Norwegian history at the time. The prosecution sought five and a half years of prison time and $1.7 million in recompense from Rønes.
On Feb. 8, 2008 Rønes was sentenced to four years prison time (of which he served two) and reparations, fines, and fees totaling $1.7 million. He did not seek an appeal.
QSJ intern Nina Dietz contributed to this article
Excellent research!