BELFAST, Maine (AP) A Norwegian firm that plans to build one of the largest land-based salmon farms of its kind in Maine says it is getting ready to submit applications for permits, and it has hired its first two employees.

The firm, Nordic Aquafarms, wants to build a 40-acre inland salmon farm capable of producing more than 60 million pounds of the fish per year. It says it will submit for permits later this summer to build the farm in Belfast.

Meanwhile, the company has also hired a pair of Maine natives. Carter Cyr will serve as the facility’s production manager and David Noyes will be its chief technology officer.

The firm has said it hopes to start construction next year and begin operations in either 2020 or 2021.