Resources Database

Uses the standards outlined in the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) to monitor levels of PSP (“Red Tide”) and other marine biotoxins in the shellfish of the State of Maine.

The DMR Bureau of Public Health Shellfish Closure Map and Data Portal has bacterial (NSSP) classifications, municipal conservation closures, biotoxin closures, and emergency closures displayed. Other layers including P90 scores can be turned on in the layer list.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources' online licensing and landings system, called LEEDS (Licensing Enforcement and Environmental Data System) is now available. In order to apply for a new license or renew a license with the system, you first need to create a login for LEEDS

Lists all forms involved with sanitation and the HACCP guidelines including vibrio control plans, wet storage, daily sanitation reports, a processing log with sales records, shipping temperature compliance, and more.

Lists all forms involved with the annual shellfish management review and forms for municipal activities such as shellfish program deadlines.

List of all forms including a field data collection sheet, MOU for non-private and private lab biotoxin testing and analysis, industry biotoxin sample protocol, guidance for high risk areas and species, and a private lab analysis table.

Evaluates all shellfish growing areas in the state of Maine to determine their suitability for harvest by conducting a "sanitary survey," which is a three-fold process.

Uses the standards outlined by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) to evaluate and certify all wholesale shellfish dealers in Maine to ship, or process shellfish for shipment, within and outside of the state.

All holders of aquaculture leases and LPA licenses are required to hold the Aquaculture Harvest License in order to harvest and sell product from their aquaculture sites, regardless of the species they grow. Commercial harvester's licenses now apply to only wild-harvest product.

Provides a comprehensive resource to help managers at the local and state level sustain Maine’s valuable shellfish resources. Includes information on the history and biology of the soft-shell clam, northern quahog, American and European oysters, and blue mussels. There are sections on state resources to address water quality issues and predatory species and tools that municipalities can use to preserve or increase their intertidal shellfish resources.

Reviews the types of harmful phytoplankton that produce biotoxins such as Alexandrium, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning; Pseudo-nitzschia, which causes amnesic shellfish poisoning; and Dinophysis, which causes diarrhetic shellfish poisoning.

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.

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.

The goal of these new requirements is to control the safety of molluscan shellfish for human consumption by preventing unnecessary growth of bacterial pathogens resulting from improper or ineffective cooling or from time to temperature abuse.

Powerpoint on biofouling including, economic impact, general impact, common fouling organisms (macroalgae, tunicates, hydroids, boring sponge, over-set of barnacles, mussels, or oysters), controlling fouling, and methods to avoid, mitigate, or prevent the effects of biofouling.

This non-profit organization helps export Northeast food and agricultural products overseas since 1973. They provides a wide range of services to facilitate trade between local food suppliers and importers around the world including: export education, self-paced training & expert advice, customized export assistance, new market analysis, international marketing &branding, facilitate meetings with international buyers, and a cost-share funding program.

This presentation, given by Dave C. Love, PhD, describes the current status of seafood consumption in the U.S. with a special focus on downstream stages of the supply chain (retail and food service) and their role in seafood availability, affordability, and nutrition.

This Internet-based training program was developed by the National Seafood HACCP Alliance—a group comprised of federal and state agencies with responsibility for seafood safety inspections, Sea Grant and university seafood science professionals, and seafood industry representatives. This training curriculum has two segments. Segment One is the Seafood HACCP Internet course. Those who complete the Internet course are eligible to attend a one-day Segment Two course taught by an Alliance instructor.

Kelp offers a promising way for fishermen to diversify their income streams in the lobster offseason, and it's also the newest seafood product GMRI verified under their Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested® label. The Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested® label is a promise that seafood hails from the clean, cool waters of the Gulf of Maine and the fishery or farm is managed in a way that contributes to the long-term health of the resource. The label empowers consumers to buy seafood they can feel good about.

Guidance document for industry that identifies areas DMR has deemed a high biotoxin risk and specific management criteria for safe harvest.

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.

A federal/state cooperative program recognized by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) for the sanitary control of shellfish produced and sold for human consumption.