The curious case of American Aquafarms’ planned use of gene-altered salmon smolts
State gives Norwegian firm unlimited time to resolve illegal import problem
SOMESVILLE, Dec. 24, 2021- Is the state considering changing its regulations to allow genetically-altered salmon to be imported into Maine?
The Department of Marine Resources discovered in August that American Aquafarms was planning to use genetically-engineered smolts from a hatchery in Newfoundland which was not on the state’s approved list of sources for imported fish.
In September, DMR gave American Aquafarms 30 days to show that the proposed smolts to be farmed in Frenchman Bay will come from a “qualified source” or the state could not proceed with its lease applications.
Just as summarily, the state lifted that deadline to give AA indefinite time to work out the problem.
“At this time, there is not a specific deadline by which American Aquafarms must submit information regarding their proposed source of eggs/smolts,” DMR aquaculture director Marcy Nelson wrote in a Dec. 7 email obtained by QSJ.
“As I’ve mentioned in previous correspondence, DMR does not intend to advance the applications by American Aquafarms any further in the process until we have received the required information regarding their proposed source hatchery, and made a determination that the source meets the standards of DMR Regulations Chapter 24.”
Chapter 24 regulations have very specific requirements with regard to pathogen screening and history at any hatchery proposed as a source of Atlantic salmon for the type of net-pen farming proposed by AA.
“Given the extent of the current and historical screening data required, the Department will allow a reasonable amount of time for the applicant and hatchery to compile that information,” Nelson wrote.
The use of gene-altered smolts is a new wrinkle in the multi-faceted effort by the Norwegian-backed AA to build two massive salmon farms in Frenchman Bay, which is opposed by more than 20 organizations and municipalities, including Acadia National Park.
Opponents have argued on the grounds of environmental, aesthetic and navigational concerns, and threats to existing fisheries.
The import of genetically-altered salmon is one issue that even the Maine Aquaculture Association, the industry trade association, opposes.
The company listed as a source for American Aquafarms, AquaBounty, is a Massachusetts-based biotech firm whose fish is being boycotted by multiple suppliers, stores and restaurants.
In February, giant supplier Aramark joined other foodservice leaders, Compass Group and Sodexo, as well as Legal Seafoods and a growing list of domestic retailers, seafood companies and restaurants to boycott AquaBounty’s products.
“Reiterating our previously stated opposition to genetically engineered (GE) salmon, we will not purchase it should it come to market. Avoiding potential impacts to wild salmon populations and indigenous communities, whose livelihoods are deeply connected to and often dependent upon this vital resource, is core to our company’s commitment to making a positive impact on people and the planet,” Aramark's policy stated.
AquaBounty’s fish are modified with added genes from other fish to grow about twice as fast as conventional salmon.
“This faster pace of life due to genetic contamination is bad news because it is linked to a whole suite of traits that make salmon less well adapted to their environment, such as increased boldness and aggression,” said Geir Bolstad of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in Trondheim. “Studies have found that the offspring of farmed salmon are less likely to survive as juveniles in the wild, in part because they are more susceptible to predators.”
Bolstad says that as long as the flow of genes continues, “it will by all probability decline the population figures because it makes the population on average maladapted.”
The Bangor Daily News reported in 2019 that fish farmers in Maine are not considering using the genetically-engineered fish.
Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, said, “Our competitors would have to be using them and that would have to be giving our competitors an advantage in the marketplace. We have no interest in growing GMO salmon, but we reserve the right to reassess that position.”
Numerous conditions would have to be met before that would change, including customers requesting the fish in stores, he said. The group also feels the environmental assessment of the fish conducted by regulators was not rigorous enough, Belle said.
DMR and AA did not return email questions from QSJ.
Tremont select board’s vote on moratorium is a vote on its own relevance
TREMONT - Does the select board really wish to cede its authority?
Twice this year - once under different members - the board chose not to approve a referendum limiting campgrounds as requested by the Planning Board.
Eric Eaton, the newest member of the board, said Tuesday, “I know the ordinance is going to be changed … there is enough movement, but I haven’t seen any progress towards changing those ordinances, and this topic has been going on and on and on .. it’s been all year … where’s the progress?”
Eaton wasn’t on the board Jan. 19 when a majority who were members in the construction trade rejected the PB request.
He was a fresh face on June 7 when PB Chair Mark Good made a second appeal for a moratorium. Good was told to work on the ordinance language, then come back to seek an approval. The planning board sputtered and then failed, giving rise to Concerned Tremont Residents, the citizens movement which successfully petitioned for the current moratorium and is seeking a six-month extension.
It’s almost a given that if the select board fails to extend the moratorium at its Jan. 24 meeting, CTR will draft its own ordinance changes and bring it to a town meeting vote. The calendar is in its favor because the Maine winter is not hospitable to site preparation work.
Its lawyer also has multiple appeals which would take months to snake through the appellate system.
If the select board and the planning board continue to be sidelined on major decisions affecting the town, that would represent a massive shift in local governance.
The fear of that shift is already sparking a new narrative with a playbook right out of the Big Lie.
“Anti-development, anti-business, reactionary.”
Those words characterizing CTR came out of the mouth of Brett Witham, chair of the town’s comprehensive task force and planning board member at its most recent meeting.
Select board member McKenzie Jewett, whose family owns a plumbing and heating business, called CTR a “secret society” Tuesday, despite the 428 votes in favor of the moratorium on Nov. 2. That’s more votes than any of the members of the select board ever received. It’s a pretty porous secret.
James Hopkins, co-owner of AWL along with his wife, Kenya Hopkins, said they were being treated unfairly by CTR and that the moratorium was preventing them from moving to Maine from Miami. It was unclear on why they couldn’t move to Maine, but their narrative from disruptor to victim was noted.
"Part of the character of the 'big lie' is that it turns the powerful person into the victim," Yale University history professor Timothy Snyder has said. "And then that allows the powerful person to actually exact revenge, like it's a promise for the future."
By inverting the narrative, Witham, Jewett and others are trying to pin the ogre label on CTR, neutralizing the citizens’ claims of any damages.
In a letter to both board chairs, Cindy Lawson, chief organizer of CTR, wrote:
“What is glaringly obvious is that our ordinances are ill equipped to handle the level of development pressure that is bound to come to Tremont, sooner rather than later. This is the big picture concern that myself and others have. This effort is not a petty attempt to squash all development in town as some seem to think. We understand at the heart of this community is the value of independence and the support of small business. However, we need to find a balance that supports successful long-term growth without sacrificing the character of our residential areas.”
Which one of the above named partisans sounds like the adult in the room?
The town may be fatigued but rarely do major, disruptive projects the size of the proposed Acadia Wilderness Lodge achieve resolution in the first year. The AWL wasn’t even on anyone’s radar until this calendar year.
When it comes to adjudicating large development projects, Tremont is a piker.
A few miles north, the neighborhood fight in Hall Quarry over a businessman’s desire to restart stone-cutting operations is entering its eighth year.
New Bar Harbor town manager, another victim of housing crisis, sets sight on zoning changes
BAR HARBOR - Kevin Sutherland, who starts Jan. 3 as town manager, has only temporary living accommodations for his partner and their 1-year-old until April. Then they will need a home to call their own.
But he’s in sticker shock. There is nothing on the market from Bar Harbor to Ellsworth that can fit into their budget, on his salary of $115,000 per year (which will increase to $117,500 after six months) and the income from his partner Kristin Forester, who works for the environmental organization Lonely Whale.
The new manager is a poster child for the workforce housing crisis on MDI, except that he will be in a position to effect policy to make a difference.
For starters, he would point to zoning as a tool for change, he told QSJ.
“He’s absolutely right,” said Town Planner Michele Gagnon, who has carried much of the burden for solving the housing challenge on her own back.
Gagnon will be an important partner for Sutherland especially in counseling him on how long it takes to change policy.
She’s already working the calendar, with her keen eye focused on the June 2022 meeting, or the November ballot. Even with those optimistic timelines, it could be well into 2024 before policies are implemented and change effected.
Housing density, cluster housing, dimensional requirements - those are all areas which could be visited to grow workforce housing. The recent vacation rental policy passed by voters will require patience and data understanding so tweaks may be in the offing. The lawsuit seeking to overturn the vote will only give the town more time to prepare a better policy, such as not counting the rental registrants who have no intention of renting their properties. The new Planning Board will have a very different makeup than the one which tied on the question.
Most importantly, the town will have two top officials on the same page.
Sutherland spent time as chief of staff in Ithaca, NY, home to Cornell and Ithaca universities where 70 of the the real estate in town was not taxable. He was the manager who made things happen behind a charismatic, progressive mayor.
Oddly, Bar Harbor, while it votes progressively on state and national elections, has always allowed unfettered capitalism - from cruise ships to vacation rentals.
Until this year, where it sent overwhelming messages - through one survey , a municipal election and a ballot question - that it wants to limit cruise ships and cap vacation homes.
Ithaca made news this year as the first municipality in the U.S. to embrace 100 percent electrified buildings by 2030 (all buildings and not just ones owned by the town). Sutherland cut his teeth in that milieu. He left Ithaca because his previous wife’s job was in Boston which required him to make an 11-hour drive each weekend.
He found a new opportunity as town manager of Saco, with a population of almost 20,000, in September 2015. But his marriage ended, and in 2019 he took leave of the job to work in community development.
Sutherland is no Shy Guy. Saco had two lawsuits from town employees he fired. In 2018, the state Human Rights Commission found “reasonable grounds” he discriminated against an older worker, The Portland Press Herald reported.
According to a report by MHRC investigator Alice A. Neal, Saco Economic Development Director William Mann claimed that Sutherland told staffers he didn’t want the city’s next Comprehensive Plan to be “written by a bunch of old white guys.”
Mann apparently didn’t get along with Sutherland and the management team. The report noted attempts were made to correct Mann’s behavior, but it didn’t change, and Sutherland ultimately determined the city and Mann should part ways. The city’s response noted that none of Sutherland’s statements were made directly to or about Mann. The city said Mann’s discharge was not made on the basis of age or sex.
According to the investigator’s report, Sutherland stated the prior city administrator wanted to focus on Saco as a retirement community but he believed if that were to happen, Saco would “die on the vine.” Sutherland’s vision, the report stated, was a vibrant community with housing to accommodate everyone.
Sutherland also fired a Parks and Rec employee in 2017 for misuse of a town iPad for “invasion of privacy.”
Sutherland will certainly not have to deal with “a bunch of white guys” in Bar Harbor town offices where his code enforcement officer, public works director, finance director, town clerk are all women, in addition to Gagnon.
That will allow him time to focus on the detritus left by the previous administration - a town overrun by tourists of both the land-based and sea-born type, great unhappiness about the declining quality of life represented in surveys, elections, letters and a citizens revolt, and an ineffectual town council led by folks content to let businesses dictate the agenda.
Trollers revel in lawsuit against the town
Sutherland would be wise not to be influenced by a marginal cadre of loud and self-interested local businesses for whom the village of Bar Harbor is merely a convenient ATM.
That group includes Erica Brooks, recently ousted Planning Board member and real estate agent who is suing the town to overturn the November initiative to cap vacation rentals.
Her sidekicks include Jennifer Cough, cruise ship committee member and unsuccessful candidate for the town council who posted on FB, “I am the fundraising piece of the lawsuit ...donations are gladly accepted at my store, First Express …”
Tuesday night’s council meeting was an example of this group’s disruptive nature when member Gary Friedmann asked why the council’s nominations committee was recommending Brooks for a position on the new task force on long term rentals when she’s suing the town.
That caught member Jill Goldthwait, who was nominating Brooks, off guard. The approval of recommendations to fill committees and boards is usually a, pro forma, non event.
But when Friedmann challenged her, Goldthwait, muttered, “Erica is quite familiar with Bar Harbor land use and zoning ordinances, she has an impressive resume of experiences in these areas. She serves on the board of the Island Housing Trust …”
Goldthwait then went on to minimize Brooks’s impact on the committee, saying she was but one of 11 members of task force.
The town council is paralyzed and unable to function on any major initiatives. Once again, Goldthwait, Joe Minutolo and Friedmann allowed member Val Peacock to block any effort to force the cruise ship industry to reduce visits in 2022.
Instead the council approved yet another watered-down motion to adopt the cruise ship visitation “framework” as a working draft. Ironically, Peacock was the chief architect of the framework below:
QSJ receiving an overwhelming number of emails supporting the citizens petition launched by Charles Sidman. The Islander’s letters to the editor received two.
“Hooray for Charles Sidman,” wrote QSJ reader Muffet Stewart.
TRIBUTE: Joyce L. Barker
1938 - 2021
BAR HARBOR - Joyce L. Barker, 83, passed away on December 8, 2021, of Alzheimer’s at the Bangor Nursing & Rehab Center with her loving husband at her side. She was born July 15, 1938, in Ellsworth to Milton O. and Alice M. (Snowman) Linscott.
Upon graduation from Bar Harbor High School, class of 1956, Joyce started working at the First National Bank of Bar Harbor. She worked at the Bank until her retirement, taking just a few years off to be home with her children when they were very young. For many years she enjoyed her morning walks around town and meeting the ladies at Jordan’s Restaurant for breakfast. Joyce loved all sports and she and Gary attended basketball events with Jean Barker, Don and Helen Wood, Anna Ryan, and Eleanor Raynes for over 20 years.
Joyce and Gary were married on July 19, 1997 and honeymooned in Hawaii. They also loved to travel to Disney World, took a second honeymoon to Hawaii and many trips to Amish Country in Pennsylvania. Bruce and Karen also went on trips with them to Nova Scotia.
Joyce’s children share fond memories of growing up playing catch in the driveway, bike riding, and blueberry picking all with their mom; of holding skeins of yarn between their hands for Mom to roll and then knit into beautiful sweaters; and of Mom baking her famous Frosted Cocoa Drop Cookies around Christmas time.
Joyce is survived by her husband Gary and her children, Timothy Higgins (April Arrington), Barbara Higgins, Rebecca Higgins (Ann Sullivan) and her cherished granddaughter Olivia Smith, brothers Ronald Linscott (Pat) and Roger Linscott (Belva): many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by Gary’s children, especially Bruce (Karen) Barker who was loved by Joyce and had the ability to communicate with her, Carol (John) Blackstone, Brett (Candace) Barker, Debbie (Mark) Getty and Scott (Rebekah) Barker and their children and great grandchildren. During Gary’s entire marriage to Joyce, he was always there for her. Joyce was predeceased by her parents and her brother David Linscott.
Joyce will be remembered by all who loved her as a caring person, always smiling and just loving to hug and be hugged. Donations can be made in Joyce’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, 383 U.S. Route 1, Suite 2C, Scarborough, 04074
Joyce’s interment will be in early May 2022.
Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 1139 Main St., Mt. Desert 04660
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com
TRIBUTE: Eric Allen Lanpher
1945 - 2021
TREMONT - Eric Allen Lanpher, 76, died December 21st, 2021, after a long battle with Parkinson's with his wife Terri at his bedside. He was born June 11th, 1945, in Bar Harbor, the son of Charles and Juanita (Means) Lanpher.
Eric lived his life on his beloved Mount Desert Island. During his early years in high school, he discovered his first love working on cars which culminated in rebuilding his blue Model A Ford. Graduating from high school as valedictorian, he continued his schooling in a special program for Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University at night while learning to be a machinist at General Electric during the day.
After his first semester he couldn’t wait to leave Massachusetts to return to his home state where he pursued a degree at the University of Maine at Orono. He worked his way through college, first as a mechanic and then as an electrician where he earned his Master Electrician’s License.
After graduating college, he taught Mechanics in a special federal program at MDI High School and then took a job as Planning Officer at the Jackson Laboratory. During that time, under the supervision of his mentor, Tom Hyde, he completed his training and passed the exam for Professional Engineer in Mechanical Engineering. During his tenure at the Jackson Laboratory, he developed a new passion and got his pilot’s license including a full instrument rating and bought his first airplane.
After a dozen years at Jackson Laboratory, he had developed a reputation for engineering excellence along with awards for one of the largest solar collectors built in Maine. He was an early advocate for alternative fuel designs and used his knowledge to build a hydronic wood and solar heating system for his house. He left Jackson Laboratory and was joined by his brother, an Electrical Engineer, to form Lanpher Associates, design and consulting engineers.
He was joined later for a few years at Lanpher Associates by his eldest son who had also graduated as an Engineer from the University of Maine at Orono. He purchased a larger airplane which allowed him to combine his love of flying with expanding the company working in the Canadian Maritime Provinces to as far south as Pennsylvania. Eric was professionally licensed in three states and three provinces and was President of the company until his retirement in 2004.
Eric loved traveling to see the country and drove across the United States many times with his family towing a custom camper that he had built. He used the camper in retirement driving to Florida in 2005 to attend the Sun n Fun fly-in. Two additional trips that he spoke of fondly, was one ferrying a small airplane from California over the Rockies back to Maine and later, flying his Piper Cherokee 4,000 miles to Alaska and back with his wife Terri to visit where she grew up.
Eric is survived by his wife, Terri Higgins Lanpher, brother Dwight Lanpher, children with his first wife Dawn Alexander: daughter Karie-An James and husband Sean, daughter Laurie-An Lanpher and husband Michael Godfrey, son Robbin Eric Lanpher and wife Aimee, son Patrick Eric Lanpher and wife Bethany. He is also survived by grandchildren Liam and Ryan James, Dreau Alexis Fischer, Benjamin and Shannon Lanpher, Violet and Maverick Lanpher. He has one great granddaughter, Elena Quinn Fischer, due in March.
A small memorial service is planned for early summer with a scattering of his ashes at the cemetery on Beech Hill where his parent’s and sister’s headstones are located.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com
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