Nordic Aquafarms - Humboldt Waterkeeper

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.

Nordic embraces additional scrutiny

Norway-based seafood company Nordic Aquafarms announced last week that it will pursue an environmental impact report (EIR) for its proposed onshore fish farm on the Samoa Peninsula in response to calls for further environmental analysis.

The Humboldt County Planning and Building Department released a mitigated negative declaration (MND) for the project last month but a coalition of environmental groups argued that the assessment didn’t go far enough.

Jennifer Kalt, director of Humboldt Baykeeper, said Nordic should have pursued an EIR in the first place.

“Such a massive project is not something where shortcuts can be taken in the environmental review process and we appreciate their willingness to just go straight into the draft EIR process rather than push it through (the MND) process and see how it goes,” Kalt said. “I think it’s just saving everyone a lot of time and effort to just agree to do the draft EIR right away.”

Local Environmental Groups Laud Nordic Aquafarms’ Decision to Complete a Full Environmental Impact Report

In response to news from Nordic Aquafarms and Humboldt County that the county will pursue a full environmental impact report for the proposed fish farm, a coalition of North Coast environmental organizations thank the company and county for listening to community concern and their commitment to rigorous environmental review.

“Our organizations called for the preparation of an environmental impact report because we believed that this project—which is unlike anything seen before in Humboldt County or even the state of California — could benefit from more thorough environmental impact review and public participation,” said Jennifer Kalt, director of Humboldt Baykeeper.

In a Surprise Move, Nordic Aquafarms Agrees to Conduct Full Environmental Impact Report for Its Land-Based Fish Farm

In terms of sheer size, Nordic Aquafarms’ land-based aquaculture facility, slated for construction on the Samoa Peninsula, would be the largest development project Humboldt County has seen for decades, maybe since the heyday of the timber industry. The facility’s five buildings — including two massive production modules where Atlantic salmon would be raised inside fully-contained recirculating tanks — would total 766,530 square feet, nearly an acre larger than the footprint of the Bayshore Mall.

It’s been more than two years since the Norwegian company announced its ambitious plans, and the environmental review period was scheduled to wrap up this week. The county, as lead agency, released its initial study last month: hundreds of pages of analysis capped by a conclusion that with mitigation measures the fish farm would have no significant adverse environmental effects. A 30-day period for the public to review the study and submit comments concluded Monday.

But in a surprise twist, Nordic executives this week announced that they will subject the project to yet more review, going above and beyond the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.

Joint Comments on Nordic AquaFarms' Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration

On May 24, 2021, Humboldt Baykeeper, Surfrider Foundation, EPIC, the Northcoast Environmental Center, the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and 350 Humboldt submitted joint comments on Nordic AquaFarms' IS/MND.

Action Alert: Tell Humboldt County to Fully Review and Mitigate Nordic AquaFarms' Fish Factory

Comments are due May 24 on Humboldt County’s review of the environmental impacts of Nordic AquaFarms’ proposed land-based fish factory. The project would involve redeveloping nearly 36 acres at the former pulp mill in Samoa to produce 73 million pounds of fish per year. Twelve million gallons of treated wastewater would be released into the ocean daily, 1.5-miles from shore. Most of that water would come from Humboldt Bay, with up to 3 million gallons/day coming from the Mad River through existing pipelines.

Humboldt Baykeeper, Surfrider Foundation, EPIC, the Northcoast Environmental Center, the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities and 350 Humboldt are teaming up to review and comment on the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration.