Maine Superior Court Justice Robert Murray has dismissed claims from an array of opponents that say they will be impacted by land-based aquaculture producer Nordic Aquafarms. As part of his ruling, the judge upheld a lease approval for Nordic's 33,000-metric ton land-based salmon farm in Belfast, Maine.

On Sept. 1 the judge upheld a lease granted by Maine's Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) to Nordic for submerged lands and dredging to install the project's intake pipes.

The construction start timeline for the Maine project, which launched in 2018, is now set for the fall of 2023, Nordic Public Relations Manager Jacqueline Cassida told IntraFish.