Resources Database

List of all forms including volunteer quality assurance training, training checklist, application and liability waiver, water sampling field data sheet, and a data sheet for GPS coordinates.

Licenses AND Sanitation Certificates must be applied for online! This is new and the preferred system for applications now. This includes Shellstock Shipper Certificate, Shucker-Packer Certificate, Shellfish Reshipper Certificate, and Depuration Processor Certificate.

List of all forms used by the Bureau of Public Health.

This brochure reviews what Vibrio is and how to reduce illness from Vibrio by achieving and maintaining temperature controls when harvesting and transporting shellfish.

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.

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.

DMR resources for growers including approved hatcheries, biosecurity, shellfish sanitation, harvest and reporting, and forms.

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.

This document is intended to help Maine restaurant owners and staff understand the risks of handling shellfish, and how to manage them safely and effectively.

The Bigelow Laboratory of Ocean Sciences, in collaboration with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, is developing a weekly, site-specific forecast for paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) levels. This forecast is experimental and represents ongoing research, and its predicted toxicity ranges are not representations of fact or guarantees of future toxicity levels. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forecasts.

A list that contains the names of markets and restaurants that are licensed to purchase shellfish directly from harvesters, then sell them in the retail trade only.

List all interstate certified shippers that can ship fresh and frozen oysters, clams, mussels, whole or roe-on scallops and is published monthly.

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.

Answers basic questions about Maine DMR's Aquaculture Harvest License such as: Who should have it?, What is it? What does it cost?, What does this license allow you to do?, How do I apply?, and Who should I contact with questions?

This flowchart maps the different licenses you need to have to sell your aquaculture shellfish out of state by mail or by vehicle, and in the state of Maine including selling direct to restaurants, and wholesale distributors, at a farmer's market, your home, and your lease site.

A basic list of what licenses you need to sell your aquaculture shellfish at your home, at your lease site, to your local grocery/general store, roadside, to a restaurant, to a wholesale distributor, at a farmers market, or out of state.

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 goal of a Vibrio Control or Vibrio Management Plan 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.

The Bureau of Public Health oversees the the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) within Maine in order to keep molluscan shellfish safe for human consumption.

Maine Growing Area Closures: Shellfish Area Inventory with Legal Notices and Maps