Resources Database

The Top Gun training program is designed specifically for the entrepreneur with a desire to grow his/her business and achieve long-term success through the use of the right tools, resources, and related mentorship. MCE has taken the time to develop strong business partnerships and to acquire loyal sponsorships which allow us to provide Maine entrepreneurs with the programing, mentorship, training, and knowledge they need to grow and succeed.

If you have been around this business for a while, you’ve probably watched some of the newcomers make the same mistakes you did when you were getting started. ECSGA Executive Director Bob Rheault decided he would try to think of as many of these common pitfalls as he could to help new growers avoid making the same costly blunders. Through the years he has continued to add to the list.

Oyster Tracker, the developer of a software platform that helps oyster farmers manage their farms, has changed its name to BlueTrace and is expanding to mussels, clams, scallops, and geoducks.

This grant guide was prepared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in consultation with the Subcommittee on Aquaculture (SCA) under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). This guide focuses only on grant programs that aquaculture farmers or aquaculture researchers may be eligible for. Updates will include Federal cooperative agreements, contracts, loans, or other direct support programs for aquaculture farmers or (non-federal) aquaculture researchers, for the purpose of aquaculture siting, research, development, and operations.

A look at the individual Maine farmers who make a living in the growing industry of Aquaculture.

Listen in as Carissa Maurin and Chris Vonderweidt, from the GMRI Aquaculture Program, lead a webinar (originally recorded on 4/13/21) teaching users the basics about The Maine Aquaculturist – a free to use aquaculture business knowledge portal - and how it can be an asset for aquaculture businesses.

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.

List of Grants and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) on the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) website. These include opportunities in Coastal Access & Working Waterfronts, Coastal Community Planning, and Outreach & Education.

Providing and promoting lifelong education and learning opportunities for students and professionals, the Algae Foundation seeks to demystify algae by providing unique Algae Academy education modules to bring algae into the classroom, collegiate level courses to prepare the next generation of bioeconomy professionals, and teacher trainings to enhance the science capabilities of our educators.

A variety of tenacious myths have persisted for decades to be presented as facts to the public and Congress. The U.S. fish and shellfish farmer cultures aquatic animals within a very complicated and expensive legal, husbandry and science-driven environment. We believe that critics are unfamiliar with this environment. Our response to these pernicious myths does not lend itself to short, simple answers; although, we have worked to be as succinct as possible.

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.

These risk management tools are designed to help Maine aquaculture producers find new ways to identify and respond to risk on their farms and in their businesses. The tools include information and visuals to help farmers identify risk factors and risk management within each of the five categories of risk as well as aquaculture crop insurance options currently available.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension provides small-business education for Maine people. Workshops and business management publications cover a variety of business-related topics, including: marketing, pricing, financial management, Internet marketing, record keeping, and customer service.

The business plan features include short & long-term budget projections & tracking, financial projection and analysis tools, monthly cash flow projections, costs of production analysis, profitability analysis, sensitivity analysis, and breakeven analysis. The production plan offers short & long-term production projections & tracking data-based growth projections, monthly sales planning & tracking, and a production calendar. If you are interested in setting up a business plan, please reach out to Christian at [email protected]

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

This first-of-its-kind Maine Aquaculture Industry Financial Benchmarking report presents results from the calculation of a series of benchmarks designed to serve as guidance for prospective Maine shellfish and seaweed producers for use in their business planning, as well as by lenders in the evaluation of loan applications.

The business structure you choose influences everything from day-to-day operations, to taxes, to how much of your personal assets are at risk. You should choose a business structure that gives you the right balance of legal protections and benefits.

The report provides information on commercially relevant aspects of oyster production gear associated with each equipment type employed including, BST™ Crosshatch, BST™ Longline, OysterGro, Rack and Bag, & Seapa™. They tracked oyster survival, growth by season, shell morphology, worm presence, and cost estimates.

DMR welcomes and encourages comment on aquaculture lease applications. This explains the process, scoping sessions, submitting a comment, speaking at a public hearing and more.

Developed to help growers tap into selling to the foodservice market. Most small growers don’t have an advertising budget, but there are a number of marketing and public relations strategies that can be used to grow sales.