Nordic venture could face delays
An executive for Nordic Aquafarms, the $400 million land-based fish farm coming to Humboldt Bay, said Friday the company will continue to pursue permits to build the operation but could face some delays because of the COVD-19 pandemic.
“At this point, it’s a little inconvenient,” said Marianne Naess, Nordic’s commercial director. “We’re working our way through the next month or two with the quarantines. “We’re still committed to Humboldt and we can’t really tell if there’s going to be any delays or any consequences at this point.”
Officials for the company had hoped to submit permit applications in August, but the coronavirus’s spread over the past two months — and its sudden escalation in the U.S. over the past two weeks — could push that further back.
Naess, who herself is self-isolating in Maine, where Nordic is hoping to build its first U.S. fish farm, said executives are waiting to see what the long-term impacts might be of an extended shelter in place event.
“It’s too early for us to say anything about consequences for personnel,” Naess said. “We will do everything we can not to let it affect any of our personnel.”
The company recently hired an on-the-ground project official for its Humboldt County operations. It hopes to see construction at the Samoa Peninsula begin in 2021 or 2022.
Although the county’s planning and building department remains active (remotely so), Nordic’s pursuit of permits could slow down this summer.
“If it gets to a point where the application is ready to be submitted and we’re still in a shelter in place, I would think it would be really hard to see it moving at a normal pace,” John Ford, the department’s director, said Friday. “Frankly, this whole (coronavirus) thing came about so fast.”
Public hearings and environmental review are important components of the permitting process, especially for a $400 million venture. Ford said it would be tough to envision holding a hearing while the county is still being told to shelter in place.
The company hopes that, when finished, the aquaculture operation will make Humboldt Bay a West Coast pioneer for land-based aquaculture. The Norway-based executives have been active in making their pitch to the community for over a year.
But the fast-moving pandemic, and the various global economic impacts that may come with it, have thrown Nordic a curveball — one that Naess is confident they’ll overcome quickly.
“On a general basis, I do anticipate things will slow down a bit, but I think things will slow down everywhere,” Naess said. “Two weeks ago, we didn’t see this coming.”