Resources Database

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

Comprehensive information on aquaculture leases and Limited-Purpose Aquaculture (LPA) licenses, including details on active and denied lease decisions, pending applications, and interactive data tables with links to maps and documents.

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.

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.

This brochure explains the benefits of eating locally farmed seafood including freshness, heart-health, food safety, good nutrition, and community benefits.

A guide on what is soft-shell clam farming, how to start your own farm, and quick overview of the financials of clam farming.

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.

An ID guide to organisms commonly found in, on, and around oyster grow bags ​and other aquaculture equipment used in the Gulf of Maine and North Atlantic.

A list of current aquaculture training programs offered in Maine.

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.

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.

Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, in collaboration with The World Wildlife Fund, is on a mission to get educational resources about seaweed aquaculture into Maine’s 5th-grade classrooms. During the summer and fall of 2023, we will distribute With a Little Kelp from Our Friends– a book on the secret life of seaweed written by Mathew Bate and illustrated by Liz Rowland– to educators. The book will be accompanied by teacher resources to increase literacy about seaweed aquaculture.

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

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.

Social license to operate (SLO), a concept that describes community acceptance and approval of incoming industry, offers a lens for better understanding these barriers and an opportunity to identify strategies for successful development. Efforts to measure and predict social license have begun, but these efforts primarily focus on company actions and impacts. This study seeks to expand the utility of social license within the aquaculture sector by developing a preliminary quantitative framework that can predict a community’s willingness to issue SLO prior to siting.

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.

Free online courses in macroalgae cultivation, microalgae cultivation, introduction to algae, and algae biotechnology. Created out of a partnership between academic institutions, national research laboratories, and industry leaders, ATEC’s goal is to develop novel educational programs to strengthen industry workforce capabilities, by focusing on the skills needed to support the commercialization of algal products. Through algal education, students learn practical applications of farming and biotechnology developing the skills for the next generation of algal-based jobs.

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.

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.

MTI offers grants, loans, equity investments, and services to support Maine’s innovation economy.

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

An overall business resource on starting a business, business licensing, corporate resources, business taxes, and employer resources.