November 7, 2022 — According to the Maine Aquaculture Association, the state’s aquaculture has enjoyed responsible growth over the last 20 years at an average rate of 2 percent, but less than 1 percent of Maine’s coastal waters are used for aquaculture. A group of organizations in Maine has opened registration for a training program designed for fishermen to learn how to farm seafood.
Hosted by Coastal Enterprises Inc., Maine Aquaculture Association, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center and Maine Sea Grant, the Aquaculture in Shared Waters program focuses on the cultivation of commercially valuable species including oysters, mussels, scallops and kelp. Students learn from leading industry, regulatory and scientific experts on topics like site selection, permitting, animal husbandry, equipment, business planning, financing, marketing and community relations.
“For the past 10 years, the Aquaculture in Shared Waters course has served as a vital tool to help fishermen learn to farm the sea, diversify their income and pioneer a new industry on Maine’s working waterfront,” said Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association.
Since the program began in 2013, over 400 students have completed the course, 30 new aquaculture businesses have been established and 60 businesses have been expanded or retained through economic diversification.
“Having fished in Penobscot Bay and southeast Alaska for many years, this training course was a great fit for me, and I’m now in the early stages of starting a scallop farm,” said Michael Scott from Isle au Haut.
The Shared Waters program received national recognition in 2020 as the recipient of the Superior Outreach Programming Award from the National Sea Grant Program.
The 2023 course will begin on Jan. 3 on Tuesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. each week for 14 sessions, concluding in early April with optional field trip opportunities in the spring. It will be offered in person at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast, with a virtual option available. It’s free of charge and applications are open to all based in Maine. Applications will be accepted at www.aquacultureinsharedwaters.org until Dec.1.
The 2023 course is made possible with funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, administered through the Maine Department of Marine Resources.