Time for a fresh start on salmon protection

Maine’s state government has not simply forsaken the nearly extinct Atlantic salmon. It has actively opposed efforts to save and restore the species. But with the election of a new governor, the state has the opportunity to reverse course and get down to the business of preserving an important part of Maine’s heritage.

There are three powerful steps that Gov. John Baldacci can take to protect Maine’s wild salmon and its habitat. First, he should drop the ill-advised lawsuit the state filed to remove Atlantic salmon from the federal Endangered Species List. Scientific analyses by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and, most recently, the prestigious National Academy of Sciences strongly support the listing. Maintaining the suit serves no purpose beyond currying favor with the industries that exploit and pollute salmon habitat. Adding injury to insult, the lawsuit drains resources from state salmon preservation efforts, and wastes taxpayers’ money – a double hit for Mainers, whose tax dollars fund both sides of the suit since the state is suing the federal government.

As a second step, Gov. Baldacci should support development and enforcement of strong Clean Water Act permits for Maine salmon farms. Escaping farmed fish, disease-spreading pathogens and other fish farm pollutants threaten wild salmon and other marine life. But no existing salmon farm in Maine has a Clean Water Act permit, which would require pollution-reducing measures that preserve water quality and protect valuable marine resources. The state should issue permits that require, among other things:

. a ban on growing European strains and genetically modified fish (because escapees can harm local salmon by interbreeding);

. tagging of farm fish, so that escapees can be traced back to problem sites;

. regular fallowing of farm sites, to reduce disease and to allow the sea floor to recuperate from the hundreds of tons of waste the farms generate;

. severe restrictions on, and close monitoring of, toxic chemical and drug usage.

Already, major salmon growers who are openly worried about an impending decision in a federal Clean Water Act enforcement lawsuit against them are trying to railroad through an industry-wide permit with as little public input as possible. Gov. Baldacci should support a process that allows the public a full opportunity to present evidence and their points of view.

Third, Gov. Baldacci should change the priorities and attitudes at the state Department of Marine Resources. One of DMR’s stated missions is to conserve the marine environment. But under DMR’s watch, Maine became known internationally as the Wild West of salmon farming, with few meaningful regulations and even less enforcement. DMR’s “industry knows best” philosophy resulted in a series of environmental disasters, from massive fish escapes, to waste-strewn dead zones beneath farms, to last year’s deadly outbreak of infectious salmon anemia (ISA).

Gov. Baldacci should revitalize DMR’s environmental conservation responsibilities by shifting the Department away from its uncritical promotion of salmon farming and its regulation by handshake. DMR should also consider whether the rapidly expanding industry is compatible with the character of the Maine coast. And DMR should never again dismiss citizens’ views on wild salmon protection and aquaculture as uninformed or unimportant.

It is time for a fresh start on salmon protection in this state. Gov. Baldacci has the opportunity to quickly and decisively reverse the shortsighted policies of the past. We urge him to do so.

David Nicholas is a senior attorney with the National Environmental Law Center. Vivian Newman is the Marine Issues Chair for the Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club. Roger Fleming is an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation. Matthew Davis is the New England field organizer for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.