Resources Database

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.

General overview about kelp farms, kelp markets, and kelp food options.

Provides confidential and comprehensive location and business services for aquaculture companies looking to locate or expand in the state.

A non-profit trade association that represents the Maine aquaculture industry at the state, federal, and international levels.

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

Provides advising and financing to fisheries and aquaculture businesses to improve their long-term viability, create and maintain quality jobs, safeguard marine-related infrastructure and environments, and help preserve the cultural integrity of Maine’s working waterfront.

This training program uses a mix of meetings and field trips/site visits to introduce participants to the issues important in running a successful aquaculture business including: site selection, equipment and husbandry, permitting and regulation, environmental monitoring, marketing and sales, farm management and biosecurity, business planning, and financial management.

Established in 1988 by the Maine Legislature with a mission to assist in developing economically and environmentally sustainable aquaculture opportunities in Maine.

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.

Washington County Community College and Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center have joined forces with partners, to bring you Workforce Training in Aquaculture. Students will have the opportunity to start careers in the aquaculture sector statewide, as well as transfer into four-year programs.

The UMaine Aquaculture Research Insitute has created a Research Portal in which you can look up aquaculture research happening in Maine by focus area, PI, funding source, timeline or keyword.

Overview of popular finfish and shellfish aquaculture systems (husbandry & gear) used in the northeast including bottom culture, near bottom culture, water column culture, surface culture, hatchery land-based systems.

A study to provide an up-to-date and accurate annual statewide economic contribution of Maine’s aquaculture industry and determine aquaculture business owner and farm demographics.

Overview of mussel farming systems, mussel spat collection, seed stripping and stocking, problems occasionally encountered, processing, packaging and shipping, site selection, and planning a business.

Reviews the importance of recording growth and environmental data, estimating number of seed, and provides template data sheets to record this information.

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.

Offers a collaborative outlook and proposes goals to guide the aquaculture sector in Maine over the next ten years. Four goals were identified: 1. Develop a streamlined licensing and permitting process that balances the rights of an applicant and the public. 2. Increase integration and understanding of aquaculture in Maine’s coastal communities 3. Expand and promote the Maine seafood brand. 4. Make Maine a leader in triple bottom line sustainable aquaculture: social, economic, environmental.

A list of current aquaculture training programs offered in Maine.

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.

Intended to help prospective farmers to identify, record, monitor, and manage production hazards, and ultimately minimize production-related risk. Discusses types of risk in aquaculture, record keeping, environmental conditions, biofouling organisms, predators, diseases, parasites, invasive species, and operational procedures.

The Maine Aquaculture Association has released the first Maine Aquaculture Occupational Standards, which specify the current workforce skills and training needs of Maine’s aquaculture sector. Altogether, four standards have been released, focusing on occupations related to (1) Marine Shellfish and Sea Vegetables; (2) Marine Finfish; (3) Land-Based RAS; and (4) Land-Based Shellfish Hatcheries. A supplementary document, the Maine Shellfish Aquaculture Career Pathways Map, is designed to provide an overview of the most common job types, entry points, and career pathway opportunities in Maine’s shellfish aquaculture sector today.

University of Maine System (UMS) micro-credential offers professional development opportunities that result in a verified micro-credential for those who want to update their aquaculture skillset. Coordinated by the Aquaculture Research Institute, this pathway will use the University of Maine System’s extensive aquaculture resources and educational expertise to create hands-on learning experiences.

Oyster aquaculture, like any agriculture operation, has inherent risks with perils beyond growers’ control. However, coastal waters present challenges for oyster farmers in the form of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Free online entry-level oyster farm worker Certificate course. Do all 16 modules to pursue farmhand certification, or simply watch and browse to get a better sense of the industry. Instructors include East Coast Shellfish Growers Association's Dr. Bob Rheault, and amazing farmers Matt Behan, John and Cindy West, and David Roebuck.