Humboldt Waterkeeper
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Waterkeeper Alliance
  • Humboldt Bay
    • Geography
    • Wildlife
    • Bay Issues
    • Photo Gallery
  • Programs
    • Toxics Initiative
    • Water Quality
    • Bay Tours
    • Community Outreach
  • Get Involved
    • Report Pollution
    • Speak Out
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Stay Informed
  • Contact Us
  • News
    • Latest
    • Press
Nordic Aquafarms proposes to build a land-based fish farm at the former Samoa pulp mill that they say would use a mixture of fresh and salt water to raise Yellowtail Kingfish, discharging up to 10.3 million gallons of effluent daily through the existing 1½-mile long ocean outfall. Bay intakes would supply 10 mgd saltwater, while 300,000 gallons per day of freshwater would be supplied by the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District. Remodeling the former pulp mill would include removing the smokestack and other asbestos- and lead-laden structures, debris, and contaminated soil. 
Below are our comments submitted on the Project's permits and environmental review:
  • Coastal Development Permit for the ocean discharge - Nov. 17, 2023
  • Regional Water Board's Draft NPDES permit (2.0) - Aug. 23, 2023
  • Humboldt County Coastal Development Permit and Special Permit - July 27, 2022.
  • Humboldt County Draft Environmental Impact Report - Feb. 18, 2022. 
  • Scoping comments for the Notice of Preparation of a Draft EIR - July 6, 2021.
  • Regional Water Board's draft NPDES permit - June 4, 2021.
  • Humboldt County's Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration - May 24, 2021.
  • Our initial statement on the proposed land-based fish farm - 2019. 
We will continue to watchdog Nordic Aquafarms’ proposal, and will keep our members and the community informed of opportunities for input. To receive updates, send an email to alerts [AT] humboldtwaterkeeper.org.

With Its Maine Project Dead, Nordic Aquafarms is Seeking New Investors and Facing a Longer Timeline for Its Land-Based Fish Factory on the Samoa Peninsula

Details
Ryan Burns, Lost Coast Outpost
Nordic Aquafarms
Created: 14 April 2025
Three months after cutting bait on plans to build a $500 million fish factory in Belfast, Maine, Nordic Aquafarms is courting new investors and facing a longer, more complicated timeline for a similar project along Humboldt Bay.
In a recent interview, Nordic executives outlined some new permitting and environmental mitigation hurdles and said it will likely be “a few years” before the company can demolish the old pulp mill infrastructure on the Samoa Peninsula and break ground on its proposed recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility.
Read more …

Coastal Commission tosses appeals of County permits for Nordic Aquafarms’ fish farm

Details
Sage Alexander, Eureka Times-Standard
Nordic Aquafarms
Created: 15 December 2023
The California Coastal Commission decided unanimously Wednesday that five appeals brought to the commission over Nordic Aquafarms’ proposed aquaculture facility raised no substantial issues, at least within the confines of the appeals.
“I think their hearts and their minds and their concerns are absolutely in the right places. These are the issues we really, really need to be dealing with,” said Commissioner Mike Wilson.
He added he agreed with staff the concerns weren’t in the confines of the appeal.
Read more …

Nordic Aquafarms' ocean discharge permit approved - with major improvements

Details
Jennifer Kalt
Nordic Aquafarms
Created: 20 November 2023
Last Thursday, the Coastal Commission unanimously approved a 5-year permit for Nordic Aquafarms to discharge tertiary-treated wastewater through the 1.5-mile long ocean outfall that was built for the pulp mill in the 1960s. The ocean outfall has attracted a number of potential developers since the pulp mill closed for good in 2008, including a quickly-withdrawn scheme to process gold ore with toxic chemicals like cyanide.
As approved, the Coastal Development Permit includes additional ocean monitoring requirements that we've been calling for since 2021 to examine the effects of the discharge on the marine ecosystem. Coastal oceanography, water quality, and benthic habitat will be monitored for two years prior to any discharge to document current conditions. Once the facility begins to discharge, four rounds of monitoring will be required each year in spring and summer to inform a comparative evaluation of toxic algae and their toxins, plankton, and other organisms.
Read more …

Coastal Commission OKs Wastewater Discharge Permit for Nordic Aquafarms’ Onshore Fish Farm

Details
Isabella Vanderheiden, Lost Coast Outpost
Nordic Aquafarms
Created: 19 November 2023
Nordic Aquafarms has cleared yet another hurdle in the extensive permitting process for its land-based fish farm planned for the Samoa Peninsula. During today’s monthly meeting, the California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a coastal development permit, with special conditions, for wastewater discharge for the proposed project.
The Norwegian seafood company plans to raise yellowtail kingfish at the massive aquaculture facility, which would discharge more than 10 million gallons of “tertiary treated wastewater” per day through the existing Redwood Marine Terminal II outfall pipe located 1.55 miles offshore. To put that into perspective, when the Samoa Pulp Mill was operational it would produce 70 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day, according to Coastal Commission staff.
Read more …

Regional Water Board OKs Nordic Aquafarms permit, expands ocean monitoring requirements

Details
Sage Alexander, Eureka Times-Standard
Nordic Aquafarms
Created: 06 October 2023
A permit for Nordic Aquafarms was unanimously approved by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, with some amendments, in a meeting Thursday in Eureka. This permit, surrounding wastewater discharge of the project, is one of the requirements the project needs to meet to build a fish farm project on the abandoned pump mill site in Samoa.
There was some back and forth between staff and the board — board members were hesitant to approve the permit, noting a lack of data and concerns brought up during public comment. Chair Hector Bedolla began the discussion with a call to eschew politics and make decisions based on the available science.
Read more …

More Articles …

  1. Nordic Aquafarms announces switch to kingfish
  2. Supes OK Fish Farm Environmental Review
  3. Humboldt County supervisors deny fish farm appeal
  4. Fishermen and Conservation Groups Appeal Nordic Aquafarms’ Environmental Report Certification to Humboldt County Supervisors
Page 1 of 9
  • Start
  • Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • Next
  • End

Advanced Search

Current Projects

  • Mercury in Local Fish & Shellfish
  • Nordic Aquafarms
  • Offshore Wind Energy
  • Sea Level Rise
  • 101 Corridor
  • Billboards on the Bay
  • Dredging
  • Advocacy in Action
  • Our Supporters
Report A Spill
California Coastkeeper
Waterkeeper Alliance
Copyright © 2025 Humboldt Waterkeeper. All Rights Reserved.