Resources Database

A guide on what is soft-shell clam farming, how to start your own farm, and quick overview of the financials of clam farming.

After purchasing used shellfish production equipment, it is strongly recommended to thoroughly clean and disinfect the gear prior to use to limit the risk of introducing disease or invasive species. An easy-to-use process is as follows:

DMR-approved hatchery status is contingent upon a variety of factors including clean pathology reports and hatchery inspections. Given this, the list below is subject to change.

You need to plan ahead to make sure seed stock is available for the growing season. Without a lead on seed, you could end up missing the entire growing season of your first year.

All wild shellfish stock or seed used for cultivation or grow-out must originate from within the same Limited Purpose Aquaculture (LPA) license Health Zone as the LPA license site. A permit is required from DMR if the stock or seed originates from outside the Health Zone.

The “Clam Kit” video series shares techniques developed at Downeast Institute to help municipal shellfish management programs enhance their softshell clam flats affordably and effectively. This video gives an overview of clam seed, DEI's hatchery, floating nursery trays, public stock enhancement, DMR lease or LPA, basic husbandry, overwintering, and more.

This video gives a first-hand account of running a mussel farm by Bangs Island Mussels including on the water gear and husbandry and well as shore-side processing. Some highlights are seeding, socking, hauling and stripping machine, de-clumper, size grader, debyssing machine, automatic bagger/weigher/conveyor, and more.

Webinar about research on scallop aquaculture production and economics including comparisons of nursery and growout gear: lantern nets, pearl nets, ear hanging, pocket nets, rigid trays, and adhesives; tissue sampling and testing for biotoxins such as saxitoxin and domoic acid; evaluation of fouling communities; surveys of producers to understand economic inputs and outputs such as capital, labor, and yield; environmental data matched with growth data to better understand good scallop-farming sites.

There are several ways in which birds interact with shellfish aquaculture. Birds can cause significant damage to crops through predation. Some birds fall into the category of protected resources and farmers have been variously accused of interfering with foraging, (either attracting or disturbing or both) and interfering with hunting. Birds can be attracted to aquaculture structures for roosting or foraging and their guano can impact water quality and trigger the need for growers to develop management plans under the National Shellfish Sanitation Plan.

Research paper on mussel spawning, spat (seed) collection, and hatchery grow out. They researched naturally and artificially conditioned mussel broodstock; compare different ropes used for settling larvae; hatchery production methods; if differences exist in growth and retention rates; whether working mussel farms would benefit from multiple cohorts of cultured seed; & the effectiveness of remote vs. traditional setting methods to decrease costs associated with the production of cultured mussel seed.

In depth review of sea scallop biology, spat collection, nursery, grow out, gear, husbandry, site selection economic considerations and biotoxins/public health.

An overview of oyster production techniques including nursery and husbandry, common gear used, and oyster biology.

Overview of how Pemaquid Mussel Farms reached their development goal of a 5 fold increase in production within 10 years to $15 million annually using new technology and business planning.

This report is based on the research priorities survey conducted in June 2019 of Maine’s aquaculture community and is compared with surveys from 2012 and 2016 to look at trends. There have been some changes in the prioritization of needs since 2016, but many of the same research, development, and education (R&D&E) needs persist and remain unaddressed. As expected, there are different R&D&E priorities for different aquaculture sectors.

Presentation on what was learned from Japan, the world leaders in scallop aquaculture, including lantern nets, spat bags, grading, washing, and recipes.

As part of an ongoing and productive relationship, a delegation from Maine visited the gear supplier Mutsu Kaden Tokki Co., Ltd. located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. This video reviews the gear needed for the Japanese scallop aquaculture industry technique called 'ear-hanging'.

This video is narrated by Dana Morse and reviews how to collect sea scallop spat and grow your seed in bottom cages.

Covers the basic elements of a longline system, including materials, construction, installation and maintenance.