Yellowtail circle a tank at the University of Maine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research. The schooling fish swim constantly to keep water moving through their gills to supply oxygen.

Ed Robinson, CEO of Acadia Harvest, plans to fill this 360,000-gallon steel and concrete tank with 30,000 to 40,000 California yellowtail, a warm-water fish prized in sushi restaurants. The tank is located at the University of Maine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research in Franklin.

This yellowtail is a small adult. Adults weigh 4 to 35 pounds, depending on their age.

Kevin Neves, production manager for Acadia Harvest, tosses food pellets into a tank filled with California yellowtail. The fish have voracious appetites and splash around in a frenzy during feedings. Neves usually gets soaked.

A 6-week-old yellowtail is measured last year at an Acadia Harvest hatchery. Adults weigh between 4 and 35 pounds.

A worker for Acadia Harvest reaches to keep a California yellowtail from escaping from a net. The topedo-shaped fish are found in warm waters off the Baja California Peninsula and southern California. This fish is less than a year old and weighs about two pounds.

Arcadia Harvest CEO Ed Robinston, in the foreground, said the business needs to spend an additional $8 million to be commercially viable on a large scale. Behind him is Gretchen Upson, operations assistant, and Kevin Neves, operations manager.