© the Kingfish Company
Kingfish Maine - a project aiming to develop a Dutch yellowtail farm site in Jonesport, Maine - remains a fully permitted operation as Maine’s Superior Court has denied the latest appeal by the project’s opposition, the Roque Island Gardner Homestead Corporation and the Eastern Maine Conservation Initiative.
The opposition to the development is based on claims that the project's Natural Resources Protection Act permit was granted after a failure to independently assess the project’s impact on wildlife.
This is not the first appeal from the Roque Island Gardner Homestead Corporation to be denied at the state level. A previous attempt to halt the development of the farm site resulted in a similar upholding of the issued natural resources and development permits by the Maine Board of Environmental Protection in 2022.
Megan Sorby, operations manager at Kingfish Maine, commented on this continued opposition, in a press release.
She said: “The opposition from Roque Island continues to be unsuccessful in its appeals of the Kingfish Maine project. This latest appeal denial is a clear victory for Kingfish Maine”.
“Kingfish Maine will bring economic development to the Downeast region and that cannot be controlled by Roque Island. We are excited to celebrate this Superior Court victory with the community of Jonesport,” she added.
Vincent Ernest, CEO at the Kingfish Company, commented: “This ruling by the Superior Court underscores the continued work of our Maine-based team to the success of this project and Kingfish’s commitment to the Jonesport community which has supported our project from its introduction".
