Whole Oceans moves Maine headquarters to Bucksport

Whole Oceans has opened a new office in Bucksport, Maine, which will become the base of the company’s operations. Whole Oceans will be building a state-of-the-art recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) to raise Atlantic salmon on the site of the former Verso paper mill in the heart of Bucksport.

The new office, located at 52 Main Street, opened in July, and the company’s Portland office had been closed. Michael Thompson, who recently joined Whole Oceans as senior project coordinator, and Orfa Cabrera, senior hatchery manager, will operate out of the new office.

“We are excited to take one step closer to bringing this new industry to the town of Bucksport and the state of Maine. Joining the downtown business community in Bucksport will help us deepen the relationships we’ve already formed in the community as we look toward a successful future together,” Jacob Bartlett, CEO of Whole Oceans, said.

The Whole Oceans team is currently in the pre-construction phase and continues to make progress toward groundbreaking for the Bucksport facility. This phase includes finalizing the details of the design plans and contract negotiations for construction of the project, the company said.

“Its aquaculture engineers are working on optimizations to the design of the facility. While these optimizations, paired with the pandemic, have caused the team to move the construction start time, the final result will be an improved facility in terms of space utilization, energy usage and fish health,” Whole Oceans said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Whole Oceans has demolished many of the remaining structures on the former site of the Bucksport paper mill, it added.

Photo Caption—Whole Oceans Office Opening, Bucksport, Maine, August 7, 2020/from left to right: Rich Rotella, Community and Economic Development Director, Susan Lessard, Bucksport Town Manager, Orfa Cabrera, Senior Hatchery Manager, Michael Thompson, Senior Project Coordinator, and Kevin Tait, Finance Manager.