EMBDEN, Maine (AP) -- Fire destroyed a hatchery, killing nearly 3 million young Atlantic salmon that suffocated when the flames damaged the pumps supplying them with oxygen.
The fire broke out Thursday night in the mechanical room at the Kennebec Hatchery of Atlantic Salmon of Maine, the state's largest aquaculture business. The pumping system supplied fresh water to the approximately 100 circular tanks holding the fish outside.
Company officials had no immediate estimate of the monetary loss. The cause of the fire was under investigation. No injuries were reported.
The hatchery, about 120 miles north of Portland, contained 740,000 Atlantic salmon smolt ready for transfer to ocean pens, as well as 2.1 million Atlantic salmon fry that were to be stocked in ocean pens this fall and next spring.
On May 9, a federal judge in Portland found the company in civil contempt for violating a court order that barred it from stocking smolt in its pens.
The order arose from an environmental lawsuit that accused Atlantic Salmon of Maine and another salmon farming business of discharging pollutants such as excess feed, feces and medication into the ocean without a permit. Carter ruled against the companies but did not announce penalties or remedial actions.
Atlantic Salmon of Maine, a subsidiary of Norwegian-owned Fjord Seafood, also operates a smaller hatchery near Rangeley.
