Maynard genetically-engineered fish farming firm stops construction on large Ohio facility
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AquaBounty grows fish from eggs to juveniles to fully grown in order to make them ready for the dinner plate.
AquaBounty Technologies, a Maynard-based salmon-farming company, has paused construction on its planned 479,000-square-foot Pioneer, Ohio fish farm, because of an increase in projected construction costs.
“During the past three years, AquaBounty has been working with its design and construction partners to manage through and mitigate the increasing costs that were exacerbated by historic inflation levels to complete construction of its Pioneer, Ohio, farm,” President & CEO Sylvia Wulf said in a Friday press release from the company.
After the first contractor’s cost estimates increased, AquaBounty approached a second firm in January, but the project's guaranteed maximum price came in significantly higher than the $375- to $395-million earlier estimate, which meant the company no longer had access to municipal bond financing, according to Wulf.
“As a result, the company has put an immediate pause on further construction of the site while the management team undertakes a detailed review of its strategic options, including evaluating a smaller scope or size for the farm, “ said Wulf. “We believe in this project and its importance to the Company’s growth strategy. Our focus now is on bringing it to completion in a manner that is prudent for the Company and our shareholders.”
AquaBounty raised more than $127 million for the project through a public stock offering in 2021-22. It broke ground on the facility in April 2022, according to a press release from the company at that time.
The company continues to produce fish at its farm in Albany, Indiana, as well as fish eggs, fish-fry, and research in Prince Edward Island, Canada. AquaBounty began producing fish at its Indiana farm in 2019, with its first harvest in June 2020.
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