This letter was originally published in The Portland Press Herald.
Maine, like Washington, was built by people who respect the sea. That legacy is being desecrated — and our elected officials are letting it happen.
A new undercover investigation has, again, exposed brutal conditions at Cooke Aquaculture’s salmon hatchery in Bingham — animals slammed into concrete, unchecked disease, filthy overcrowded tanks. This is not new. The same facility was exposed in 2019. Maine authorities investigated and took no action. Nothing changed. This is Cooke company culture. Washington state recognized it and kicked Cooke out after a cascade of abuses.
Now the Trump administration is gutting aquaculture oversight and fast-tracking industrial “floating factory farms” in open ocean waters — prioritizing corporate profit over clean water and working people.
Mainers deserve leaders who will fight for our coastlines, our fishermen and our right to know what’s in our food. Mainers should be outraged. It’s time to act like it.
Genevieve Murphy
Bellingham, Wash.