Maryland could lose its only known population of Atlantic sturgeon. The Maryland Department of the Environment, MDE, has given tentative approval for a 35 million pound salmon factory, “AquaCon,” on the banks of Marshyhope Creek, an Eastern Shore tributary that connects to the Nanticoke River and supports spawning and nursery habitat of this federally protected endangered species. A recent estimate has sturgeon spawners numbering 40 or less. This tiny population is on the knife-edge of vulnerability, meaning that AquaCon’s effluents represent an existential threat.
AquaCon’s salmon production numbers are astronomical, exceeding Maryland’s total seafood production, exceeding harvests of Chesapeake blue crab, and topping U.S. Atlantic harvests of striped bass. Recirculating rearing technology produces impressive growth rates and efficient use of feed and water, yet the key challenge is waste management. Fast growing salmon poop a lot. On a daily basis, AquaCon’s salmon would generate several-fold more poop than the citizenry of Annapolis. Waste management technologies include a combination of combustion and capture of solids that are transported off-site. Still, containment systems for this audacious volume have never been tested, and accidents and even catastrophes (water and electrical outages, disease outbreaks, die-offs) are bound to happen, overwhelming the contingency of using Federalsburg’s single sewage treatment plant. Direct spills would make downstream reaches devoid of oxygen and uninhabitable for sturgeon and other native fishes.
The factory will also discharge over 2 million gallons each day of cold groundwater, required to flush wastes and off-flavors from salmon prior to harvest. The planned point of discharge is into a shallow channel just over 100-feet in width. The cold purge water will inundate the entire channel, impacting sturgeon spawning cues and offspring growth and survival. Further, adding salinity, as is often the case to lower stress in cultured salmon, would make large segments of the Marshyhope Creek…
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