Resources Database

Summarizes common and important mistakes that new growers will make when first starting.

A variety of tenacious myths critical of marine aquaculture practiced in the United States have persisted for decades to be presented as facts to the public and Congress. The reality is U.S. fish and shellfish farmers culture aquatic animals and plants within a very complicated and expensive legal, regulatory, husbandry, and science-driven environment. We believe critics are unfamiliar with this environment or have erroneously assumed marine aquaculture-related environmental damage reported in other countries occurs in the United States.

Overview of mussel farming systems, mussel spat collection, seed stripping and stocking, problems occasionally encountered, processing, packaging and shipping, site selection, and planning a business.

This brochure explains the benefits of eating locally farmed seafood including freshness, heart-health, food safety, good nutrition, and community benefits.

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:

In depth document created to provide the information and a framework that will enable a shellfish farmer to write a comprehensive Best Management Practices document focusing on gear/operation and maintenance, user conflicts, permitting/siting, and environmental concerns.

An ID guide to organisms commonly found in, on, and around oyster grow bags ​and other aquaculture equipment used in the Gulf of Maine and North Atlantic.

In September 2023 the ECSGA updated its 2010 Best Management Practices manual. Building on the 2010 version, this update adds a new section on the management and handling of floating gear, hundreds of embedded links, info on new gear types and a revised bibliography. ECSGA also completely revamped the tool to create your own farm-specific Best Practices document: the Best Practices Form.

List of the over 200 harbor masters and deputy harbor masters in The State of Maine Harbor Masters Association.

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.

This web-based, report-centric tool provides coastal and ocean planners with a high-level analysis for their custom-drawn area of interest. It provides summary statistics and infographics for six main topics: general information, energy and minerals, natural resources and conservation, oceanographic and biophysical, transportation and infrastructure, and economics and commerce.

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.

Developing oceanographic models of factors that control the productivity of Maine's coastal waters in three bioregions (southern, central, and down east Maine), supplemented by hourly monitoring of biophysical parameters in 6 coastal regions through LOBO buoys in the more sheltered waters, and at the mouths of the bays in more exposed conditions using buoys developed at the University of Maine. The SEANET buoy network is supplemented with other smaller buoys and sensors involving students, citizen monitors, fishermen, and aquaculturists.

Uses an individual growth model over 30 days for Eastern Oyster, Blue Mussel, and European Oysters using satellite inputs for temperature, chlorophyll, and particulate organic matter to determine locations where they will grow best.

Social license to operate (SLO), a concept that describes community acceptance and approval of incoming industry, offers a lens for better understanding these barriers and an opportunity to identify strategies for successful development. Efforts to measure and predict social license have begun, but these efforts primarily focus on company actions and impacts. This study seeks to expand the utility of social license within the aquaculture sector by developing a preliminary quantitative framework that can predict a community’s willingness to issue SLO prior to siting.

Maine aquaculture marking requirements (effective January 1, 2023) for lease sites and LPA sites with a sample marker buoy image.

Lists all upcoming aquaculture public meetings, hearings, and scoping sessions and give the date, time, town and location for them.

This directory is intended to identify shellfish hatcheries and nurseries from along the east coast of the United States in order to serve as a tool for providing a stronger link between shellfish seed suppliers and shellfish farmers. The directory includes contact information for each business, as well as some additional information indicating the type of operation (i.e., hatchery, nursery, or research) and what products they expect to have available.

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.

Displays location and information on aquaculture leases and licenses in Maine along with NSSP water quality information and p90 scores, LPA Health Zones, IFW Essential Habitat Boundaries, historic eelgrass data, conserved land information, and low tide imagery.

This training program uses a mix of meetings and field trips/site visits to introduce participants to the issues important in running a successful aquaculture business including: site selection, equipment and husbandry, permitting and regulation, environmental monitoring, marketing and sales, farm management and biosecurity, business planning, and financial management.

Established in 1988 by the Maine Legislature with a mission to assist in developing economically and environmentally sustainable aquaculture opportunities in Maine.