Local group urges aquaculture moratorium; lawmakers and fisheries experts disagree on scope

Representatives from Protect Maine asked the Stonington Selectmen to consider adopting a temporary moratorium on aquaculture leases while towns evaluate permitting and public-notice processes.

At a May meeting, Mark Gallaher and Jon Lewis (a former aquaculture department head) described worries about a surge of lease applications and urged towns to adopt temporary pauses to assess local control. The Selectmen invited legal review: TM Billings said she had circulated Protect Maine's materials to town counsel and to Maine Municipal Association legal for guidance.

State Rep. Genevieve McDonald, who attended the meeting, corrected some procedural points offered by speakers and emphasized the statutory role of the Marine Resources committee and the existing legal framework for lease applications. Panelists and board members discussed whether a local moratorium would be legally permissible or useful given state-level authority and described the merits of public process and notice already embedded in the lease review.

No moratorium was enacted; the board accepted materials for legal review and took no immediate regulatory action, seeking counsel advice before further consideration.