Sorrento voters have rejected a proposal from a not-for-profit group to enact a temporary ban on new aquaculture projects, according to a report in the Ellsworth American
The 180-day ban was promoted by Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation, which has advocated for such moratoriums in several coastal towns as it has organized opposition to an inactive proposal from American Aquafarms to construct a 120-acre floating salmon farm in Frenchman Bay.
Voters in Sorrento, which juts out into the bay from its eastern shore, rejected the ban at the annual town meeting on Sept. 24, the American reported.
Other towns that have rejected similar moratoriums include Deer Isle, Hancock, Lubec and Jonesport — the last of which is where Kingfish Maine is hoping to build a $110 million land-based fish farm near the shore of Chandler Bay.
Beals, Cutler, Gouldsboro, Machiasport and Winter Harbor are among towns that, at the urging of the advocacy group, have adopted 180-day moratoriums on large aquaculture proposals.
