A Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling over the ownership of some mud flats in Belfast has created a major hurdle for a $500 million fish farm planned there.
At the center of the dispute is Nordic Aquafarms’ plans to run piping underneath the property from the company’s proposed salmon facility, which would be built on 54 acres just west of Route 1. To connect with Penobscot Bay, the inflow and outflow water pipes need to cross intertidal land that Belfast officials say belongs to Janet and Richard Eckrote. Most city officials support Nordic’s proposal for the fish farm and, to help clear the way, the city bought the Eckrotes’ land in 2021.
But a local advocacy group that opposes the project, Upstream Watch, disputed the ownership. According to Upstream Watch, the intertidal land is actually owned by another couple, Jeffrey R. Mabee and Judith Grace, and there is a conservation easement that precludes any non-residential use of the property.
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