Aqua Bounty Clears Hurdle

The North Central Local School Board approves an Enterprise Zone Agreement with AquaBounty Technologies during a special meeting Monday evening. AquaBounty is a land-based aquaculture company that announced plans to build a nearly 500,000-square-foot facility in Pioneer and produce 10,000 metric tons of genetically modified salmon annually. While AquaBounty intends on investing $200 million dollars in the facility, the company is also looking to get a tax abatement. But, officials say, it is effectively only getting a 60% abatement as the company is donating 40% to other entities. Construction is planned to happen in phases… set to start in November with some basic site preparation followed by the construction of the first part of the building next year. In 2023, the facility is expected to be finished.