Here in Belfast I’m as passionate as the next person. So when I read about the salmon farm proposed for Belfast and hear the many extreme and over the top opposition exaggerations and fears presented as “concerns” or even worse as “scientific facts” delivered by colorful self-appointed experts I am drawn to respond with the same passion.

But passion squaring off with passion will not help us any find greater clarity. I have to restrain myself from meeting the opposition’s intensity.

If in response I turned the dial up to 11 I would come off as nuts. There has been more than enough of that already.

Over the last weeks we finally entered the stage of the applications process when sober people will evaluate scientific and legal facts about water, discharge, noise, traffic, financial capability and other relevant truths. I have a lot of trust in the Maine Bureau of Environmental Protection, Department of Marine Resources, and the City of Belfast Planning Board to sort reality from too many awfully extravagant claims, fears, and calamitous predictions.

Will these trusted boards find that a bunch of fish swimming in circles to be the end of the world as we know it?

I don’t think so and... I feel fine.

For over two years I’ve been listening carefully and have yet to hear a true or factual reason to be against the salmon farm. Fears and concerns are not enough. Everyone is equally concerned and open to true facts.

I believe the Nordic Aquafarms proposal to be good for Belfast and our area. It will not harm our beloved bay, we have plenty of water to spare, and this addition to our home will lower the tax burden for our people who have carried too much for too long, while adding a new economic diversity to our area.

The applications are in front of boards and I’m looking forward to the next steps.  Passion is great but it only goes so far. After a while, talking, or yelling, past each other has to come to an end. Let’s hope that time comes soon.

Mike Hurley lives in Belfast and is a member of the Belfast City Council