Board of Appeals upholds planning permit for Kingfish in Maine

The Kingfish Company has completed another stage in its plan to build a production plant in Maine, in the north eastern USA.

The company is looking to farm yellowtail kingfish in Jonesport, Maine at a RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems) facility. It has now announced that the Jonesport Board of Appeals has upheld the Planning Board’s decision to grant a building permit for Kingfish Maine, unanimously rejecting all arguments in an appeal by opponents.

Also, the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) has provided its unanimous support for loan insurance on a direct loan by Machias Savings Bank relating to the project. FAME’s Commercial Loan Insurance Program insures a portion of a loan to a business made by a participating financial institution or investment firm.

The Jonesport Board of Appeals denied Protect Downeast’s attempt to appeal the Planning Board’s approval of the Kingfish Maine building permit. The town’s Board of Appeals voted unanimously in favour of Kingfish Maine on each of the three appeal issues brought forward by the opposition group, which includes leadership by the summer residents of Roque Island. The formal adoption of the final decision was completed on 7 March.

Previous protests have also failed in their appeals against the permissions already granted to the company.

Megan Sorby, Kingfish Maine Operations Manager, said: “We commend the Jonesport Board of Appeals for its thoughtful work and decision making in the appeals process. Over the past three years, we’ve had unwavering support from the Jonesport community. We are honoured that they have welcomed us and we look forward to our collaborative work as we are planning to bring sustainable land-based technology to the US.”

Kingfish Maine is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kingfish Company and will deploy the same advanced technology and operational excellence proven at the company’s facility in the Netherlands. Once the Jonesport facility is fully operational, it is projected to produce 8500 metric tons of yellowtail.

Vincent Erenst, Kingfish Company CEO, said: “The Kingfish Company is committed to demonstrating the highest standards of sustainability, which includes transparency and responsibility to our stakeholders and the community where we intend to develop our latest project. We credit the Jonesport community for its commitment to the project and sharing our vision for the future.”

Meanwhile, after a successful implementation project during the second half of 2022, The Kingfish Company is now live using Maritech Packing and Maritech Purchase & Sales cloud software. Maritech is also delivering the LINSiGHT. MES (Manufacturing Execution System) which will be implemented alongside the completion of the new processing facility at The Kingfish Company land-based farming site in Zeeland, Netherlands.

“We are scaling our business and need new tools that enable us to reach our goals,” said Cees Jan Bastiaansen, Head of Quality and Sustainability at The Kingfish Company.

“Our core requirements were to find a system that can be operated in an international environment, is scalable and is designed for seafood processing. We also wanted to avoid customizations. After a thorough round of research, meetings, and reference checks, we found Maritech most likely to be the best fit.”

Maritech is a leading provider of software to the seafood industry and a recognised partner for several of the largest companies in the global aquaculture market.