The history of aquaculture in Blue Hill Bay has so far been short and contentious. Now, environmental groups and coastal landowners are preparing to contest the latest proposal from a small company to place salmon pens off Tinker Island near the mouth of the bay. Erick Swanson and his company, Trumpet Island Salmon Farm, have also asked to expand operations off Hardwood Island, also in the bay.

Three days of hearings will be held on the plans this week where the scenic and recreational value of the waterway will no doubt be highlighted. What won’t be discussed, at least not much, is whether fish farming and other commercial ventures that provide local jobs are important too.

These larger discussions shouldn’t happen in the course of consideration of individual fish-farm permits as has been the state’s practice so far. Rather, there should be a statewide plan for where aquaculture is appropriate and where it is not. An aquaculture task force created by Gov. John Baldacci will begin its work this week. Developing such a plan, which must also allow for local input, could be its biggest accomplishment.

First, the group must decide if aquaculture, which contributes at least $100 million annually to the state economy, has a future in Maine. If it does, the state and local groups should work with fish farmers to find the best places to put pens, especially since state and federal rules now require that salmon farms separate fish of different ages, which means more sites will be needed for new pens. Those involved in the process should also keep in mind that while salmon and shellfish farms are now common in Maine, new species could soon be raised off the coast, bringing with them entirely new concerns.

That is why the 11-member task force is right to focus much of its efforts on bay management. Akin to the state’s highly successful lobster zone management system, aquaculture bay management should consist of local stakeholder groups making decisions about their own waters while adhering to a set of statewide guidelines to protect ecosystems, navigation routes and other important assets.

Ideally, each group would map its bay, highlighting where pens could be placed and where they would pose a definite hazard. The areas that are off-limits must be few and of exceptional value for biological, navigation reasons or economic, not simply because they interfere with a view. Such an approach will allow the very different concerns of Cobscook, Casco and Blue Hill bays, for example, to be taken into account in a way that provides certainty both to area residents and fish farmers who may want to locate or expand facilities there.

To make the system work better, aquaculturists would do well to consider improvements and upgrades to their equipment to make it less visible and obtrusive. Like groundfishermen have done to decrease by-catch and lobstermen have done to reduce right whale entanglements, those who own mussel rafts and salmon pens need to seriously consider modifying their gear to reduce complaints about how ugly feed barges are or that floating rafts interfere with a yacht race. A proposal a couple years ago to paint feed barges to resemble lighthouses was tossed off as foolish. It might not be, although sailing sloops might make a more appropriate backdrop.

There will still be contention over specific lease sites, but if there is agreement on where aquaculture belongs and where it does not, the number and tone of the individual fights can be brought down.