Zoning change denied for Maryland land-based salmon farm

AquaCon want to spend EUR 900 million on three land-based salmon farms near Baltimore. 

A Maryland land-based salmon farm, which is backed by former Pareto partner Henrik Tangen and former Mowi director Marit Solberg, has hit a regulatory snag reports the Chesapeake Bay Journal.

The project failed to gain local approval from the Dorchester County Board of Appeals for a special zoning exception that would have allowed it to build an indoor hatchery and grow-out facility. The 114-acre site was formerly home to the Cambridge Country Club.

In June, it was announced that AquaCon would spend EUR 900 million on three land-based salmon farms in the US state, eventually to produce 45,000 tonnes annually.

• Read more: AKVA eyes up $130 million contract to supply 15,000 tonne-a-year land-based salmon farm in Maryland, USA

Ryan Showalter, an Easton lawyer representing AquaCon, told the publication that the company was pursuing multiple sites at the same time with the intent to start construction next year on whichever one first receives regulatory approvals.

The AquaCon representative added that they wouldn’t try to win the board over. “We have other sites. We redirect,” added Showalter.