
A 2018 artist’s rendering of the Nordic Aquafarms facility proposed for construction beside Little River in Belfast. Courtesy of Nordic Aquafarms
Nordic Aquafarms has agreed to pay $125,000 to an activist group that fought the company’s recently abandoned plan to build a large aquaculture project in Belfast.
The Norwegian company had for years attempted to build a $500 million facility, which would have been one of the largest inland salmon farms in the world. The company announced this month that it would be abandoning the project, citing legal challenges.
Nordic Aquafarms falsely accused Upstream Watch of interfering with its right to use the adjacent intertidal land, the environmental group said in its announcement Thursday.
“Nordic in fact, never had title, right or interest to that intertidal land, as determined by the Maine Supreme Court,” Upstream Watch said.
Nordic Farms agreed to pay $125,000 and interest within two years, or upon the sale of any of its property in Belfast, Upstream Watch said. The company mortgaged three parcels of its land to secure the money, Upstream Watch said.
Jill Howell, the group’s executive director, said the company’s departure from Belfast and agreement with the nonprofit “finally (brings) to a close our long, difficult effort to prevent this fatally flawed project from being built in Belfast.”
Nordic Aquafarms did not immediately return an email Thursday night requesting comment and details of the agreement.
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