Canada-based Acadian Seaplants closed its Maine operations in Jonesboro earlier this month, citing the exchange rate, transportation costs, and tariffs as the drivers of the decision.
Company president and CEO Jean Pierre DeVeaux spoke to a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporter about the closure a week ago, saying tariffs will cost his business millions of dollars on an annual basis.
"We are coming into the season. We had to make a decision. Do we operate or not. We made the tough decision to shut down our operations in Maine," DeVeaux said.
DeVeaux said Acadian Seaplants has reduced its dependence on U.S. business. He said if 25% tariffs continue it could drive Canada into a recession.
Dr. Allison Snow, co-founder of the Blue Hill Peninsula Rockweed Forum, said Acadian Seaplants' harvests Downeast accounted for 40 percent of Maine's million-dollar rockweed industry.
"The habitat where they had been harvesting will be better for fish and wildlife and probably better for the fishing industry in Maine, because there's so many connections between rockweed and young fish and clams and mussels. It's all part of an ecosystem."
Rockweed is used to make a bio-stimulant for crops.
The Maine Rockweed Coalition estimates 17 million pounds are harvested each year along Maine's coast with a value of about $1 million.
Six staff members and 30 independent contractors are affected by the Jonesboro closure.
The Department of Marine Resources said Acadian Seaplants was an important source of jobs and economic benefits in Washington and Hancock Counties, and the closure is devastating for people in those economically challenged areas of our state.