Maine’s largest aquaculture company may not be allowed to stock fish this spring.

A court order issued Thursday bars Atlantic Salmon of Maine from stocking pens at any of its seven farms until a lawsuit over water quality is resolved.

The company would like to begin stocking fish in May or June, depending upon water temperatures, but could hold fish in tanks over the summer and instead stock them in the fall, if necessary, said spokesman Steve Page.

The delay would not have a serious economic impact for the company, he said.

Environmentalists were pleased with the announcement, however.

“This will prevent exacerbation of the pollution,” said David Nicholas, a Boston-based attorney for the National Environmental Law Center.

Atlantic Salmon of Maine and fellow aquaculture leader Stolt Sea Farms have been embroiled in a suit filed by environmental groups for nearly two years.

Stolt was not named in Thursday’s ban, because it has no plans to stock fish before spring 2004.

The US Public Interest Research Group, represented by the law center, contends that the aquaculture operations, both located in Washington County, have violated the Clean Water Act by not possessing permits to discharge pollution into the ocean.

Pollutants, including excess feed, feces and medications, are harming the environment, they said.

Last summer, U.S. District Judge Gene Carter agreed, and the Maine Board of Environmental Protection is currently drafting standards for such a permit. A five-day hearing to set penalties for the two firms’ violations was held in October,

Carter had planned to announce his decision on penalties by January 2003, but has been delayed. Both parties said Friday that it is uncertain when the case will be resolved.