Resources Database

Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center has limited funds to support innovative research that will help advance the Maine aquaculture industry and also lists Maine funding opportunities.

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.

Dr. Carole Engle, a specialist in aquaculture economics, discusses growing your aquaculture businesses: whether should you expand or diversify and what conditions should you consider doing so. This will help you determine if is it the right time to expand your business, increase production, or move into new markets.

Careful financial management is essential for the success of an aquaculture business. While financial management is a complex topic that can be approached from many perspectives, there are some key questions that the manager of an aquaculture business must answer affirmatively to be successful. Determining the answers requires careful, thorough, and comprehensive analysis. This publication, written by Dr. Carole Engle, a specialist in aquaculture economics, outlines the types of analyses and financial statements required to answer these critical questions.

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

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.

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.

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

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 critical long-term decision aquaculturists must make is to determine whether the business can generate enough value over time to pay off its debts. The appropriate financial statement for doing this is the balance sheet. The balance sheet is divided into two main categories: assets and liabilities. The balance sheet is structured by dividing assets and liabilities into one of two time periods: current and noncurrent. This publication, written by Dr. Carole Engle, a specialist in aquaculture economics, will help you identify the financial strengths and weaknesses of your business using balance sheets.

The comprehensive financial analysis of aquaculture businesses requires that three key aspects of financial management be evaluated: financial position, profitability, and liquidity/cash flow position. Profitability is the difference between total revenue and total cost. It must be analyzed separately from financial position and liquidity/cash flow. This publication written by Dr. Carole Engle, a specialist in aquaculture economics, discusses profitability as measured from income statements and enterprise budgets.

Cash flow problems are one of the most common types of financial problems in aquaculture businesses. This publication, written by Dr. Carole Engle, a specialist in aquaculture economics, addresses the question of whether the business can generate enough cash when needed to pay its bills (liquidity). Liquidity is a fairly broad concept, and a number of financial indicators can be used to measure it. Of these, the cash flow statement is the most useful means of monitoring the liquidity of a business.

The Maine Seaweed Council strives to protect the ecosystems of Maine’s marine algae and adhere to sustainable cultivation and harvest practices, promote the use of Maine seaweeds, educate the public, regulators, and elected officials, and provide a collaborative forum for its members.

Free online boating safety course that is recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard, approved by NASBLA and the Maine state boating license agency. Complete the course in three steps: enroll in a Boating Safety Course from the course catalog, study and pass the free Boating Safety Course, and print out your certificate of completion.

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. provides loans to aquaculturists. If you are seeking to grow your aquaculture operation but have had difficulty getting a loan from a commercial lender, CEI is here to help.

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.

University of Maryland Extension, Maryland Sea Grant, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Chesapeake Oyster Alliance are proud partners for “Seed to $$$” - a program for those in aquaculture to learn to manage their businesses for more profit. The US has experienced rapid economic growth in the last few years. This was due to increased spending designed to stimulate the economy in the wake of the pandemic. Recordings of the 8 presentations from the Seed to $$$ meeting are now available for viewing.