No. Our buildings will displace approx. 30 acres of forest that had been logged on a regular basis by its previous owners. We are also replanting areas and maintaining green visual buffers. In addition, we have worked with the city to protect the Little River trails and waterfront for the community to enjoy through a donation.
Do you have harmful pesticides or additives in the discharge?
We do not use growth hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides in our daily production. We produce a natural product and thus do not add any harmful chemicals to the production water.
FDA approved cleaners and disinfectants are used to clean other parts of the facility and are not directly discharged in any material quantities.
Will your fish or discharge water spread disease to the local fish populations?
No. Biosecurity and fish welfare are the primary considerations for the farm design and operation. In addition to the biosecurity measures in place to ensure that the facility remains disease free, all water leaving the fish production areas including floor drains and processing will undergo extensive treatment of ultrafiltration through 0.04-micron filters equivalent to 1.5748e-6 inches in size before passing through UV disinfection at 300mJ/cm2. Fish health is closely monitored on the farm to manage and contain any early onset of disease if it were to occur.
How does RAS compare in efficiency?
On the global scale, the US ranks #1 in chicken and beef production, and #2 in pork production. However, we rank #16 in seafood production. We have much work to do. Salmon have a higher percentage of protein and energy retention when compared to the other protein sources on the graphic below. The feed conversion ratio is also the most efficient, given that for every 1.1 pounds of feed, you get 1 pound of fish.
When we look at the efficiency in use of local resources, our salmon will be one of the most resource efficient.
What about the CO2 footprint?
Currently, over 90% of fresh salmon is airfreighted into the US, and half of all fresh seafood is thrown away. The Belfast facility will displace a portion of imports from overseas locations with a local craft seafood product. At Nordic, we plan to distribute our salmon by truck, as airfreighting produces much more CO2 than our local strategy.
We’ll be able to get our fish to consumers faster than imports, giving people more available days for their fish to be fresh. Reducing food waste is the most effective way of reducing CO2.
We further reduce our footprint by employing renewable energy solutions.
Could the facility lead to algae blooms?
No. Our wastewater system removes 99% of phosphorous, total suspended solids, and biochemical oxygen demand, and 90% of the nitrogen in the effluent. The residual discharge is going into a bay containing trillions of gallons of water- like a drop of water in a bucket. Even though we go far beyond current industry standards by removing 90% nitrogen, we do have elevated levels of nitrogen compared to background levels. The residual discharge is, however, less than 1% of the nitrogen already going into the bay. If other current dischargers raised their treatment level to only 50 % of our level, we would see material reductions in nutrient discharge along the entire coastline.
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute and the Conservation Law Foundation have reviewed our application and not found cause for concern. We will remain diligent in contributing to the health of the bay as a part of our environmental stewardship strategy.