An influential and vocal group called Friends of Blue Hill Bay convinced Maine’s Department of Marine Resources to reject a proposed salmon-farming aquaculture operation at a 25-acre site near Long Island.

Now it appears they’ve also gotten to U.S. Representative John Baldacci, who said last week he’s developed misgivings about whether aquaculture, as presently practiced, is safe for Maine’s environment. The Democratic congressman from Maine’s Second District said he was influenced by arguments advanced by the group in its opposition to the salmon- farming operation proposed by Atlantic Salmon of Maine.

Baldacci, who claims to be a long-time supporter of the industry, apparently finds the worries of this group of "thoughtful people," coupled with willingess to spend some of their own money for a study of the currents in the bay, compelling enough to change his thinking.

Industry members, who dispute the validity of the environmental contentions raised by the Blue Hill group, say there is a substantial body of hard data showing that aquaculture, when properly practiced, has a minimal environmental impact.

Baldacci didn’t come right out and say that aquaculture should be abandoned. "But perhaps it shouldn’t continue in this way," he asserted, without offering any suggestion about what "way" might be pursued as an alternative.

The most disheartening aspect of the aquaculture controversy is that, when all is said and done, it is driven largely by the "not-in-my-backyard" mentality. Opponents usually assert that they’re not against aquaculture at all. "This is just the wrong place for it," they’ll tell you as they survey the view from their shorefront property or the deck of their sailboat.

For years, people with varied interests—fishing, recreation, environment—have fought over who will be allowed to use the waters off Maine’s coast and how that use will be regulated.

At a time when wild fish stocks are being depleted to dangerous levels, the controlled farming of various species offers a proven alternative. But aquaculture requires water—lots of it—and requires the sharing of ocean resources.

It’s logical to assume that fish farmers won’t intentionally put their considerable investment at risk by choosing an inadequate site or befouling the operation once it’s in place. Fish are sensitive creatures that won’t long survive—in captivity or otherwise—in less than ideal conditions.

We don’t know what Baldacci has in mind for the aquaculture industry. He probably doesn’t know himself. But we do know how the political system works. Put up a couple of hundred citizens, stirred by emotion, against a few voices of reason and it’s not hard to figure out where the politicians will line up.