Resources Database

This brochure explains the benefits of shellfish aquaculture for the environment including improving water quality, increasing species diversity, removing excess nitrogen, and not needing fertilizers, chemicals, or antibiotics.

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.

Fact sheet designed to try to improve the growers knowledge on the process to contact a professional who can examine dead or dying shellfish to determine the cause and how to get the shellfish to them for analysis.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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 brochure reviews safe handling, storage, and cooking practices that shellfish consumers should follow to prevent illness.

A list of current aquaculture training programs offered in Maine.

General overview of Vibrio sp. and how consumers can avoid Vibrio-related illness by following current health advisories and proper handling.

A brief introduction to current commercial production species, potential commercial species, and experimental species including the hard clam (quahog), eastern oyster, blue mussel, softshell clam, macroalgae, bay scallop, European oyster, surf clam, sea scallop, and more.

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.

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.

Provides a unified national voice for aquaculture on the national level as well as informative webinars, publications, and facts about aquaculture.

Provides basic information on harmful algal blooms (HAB) such as causes, most common species, successful management and monitoring programs, control, prevention, and mitigation strategies, economic consequences, associated risks to human health, and impacts on food webs and ecosystems.

Reviews harmful algae blooms including conditions for biotoxin formation, detection, management, and common types of HAB's in the northeast.

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.

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