Project

The Maine Aquaculturist

Improving access to critical resources for Maine's aquaculture industry.

The Maine Aquaculturist, a free-to-use aquaculture knowledge portal, is a comprehensive, accessible, and practical information portal that assists commercial aquaculture businesses in understanding and utilizing business-relevant aquaculture resources.

Knowledge Portal Goals:

  • Help aquaculture startups understand and navigate the unique business challenges of sea farming.
  • Provide established farms with a resource database, a job board, and an aggregation of relevant regulatory and legislative events.
  • Help aquaculturists identify and gain access to capital to support business growth.
  • Make relevant business resources accessible to both start-ups and established aquaculture businesses.

The Maine Aquaculturist

The Maine Aquaculturist empowers Maine's sea farmers to access and fully utilize business-relevant support resources. By centralizing knowledge to a single, searchable database and by filling gaps in existing resources, we help farmers find the information that moves them forward.

Access the Knowledge Portal

Carefully curated, expertly vetted resources to inform decision-making for aquaculture businesses.

Maine’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry enjoys a comprehensive support system that includes state agencies, NGOs, research labs, academic institutions, trade groups, and other organizations invested in the economic potential aquaculture brings to the state. Between these organizations and the farms themselves, there is no shortage of information available — but with so many organizations contributing valuable insight, it can be difficult for farmers to find the information quickly amid all the other demands of their businesses.

The Maine Aquaculturist addresses this challenge by centralizing and organizing these resources to help farmers find the information they need to build and sustain their businesses.

The new platform serves startups and mature aquaculture companies alike. From developing an initial business plan to selling product at market, the platform’s Essential Start Guide charts the course for new aquaculture entrepreneurs. Additionally, a guide to financing options helps startups pursue funding. For industry veterans, the platform features a searchable resource database, job board, and regulatory update tracker.

The site also features a set of case studies — highlighting the experiences of industry veterans from diverse backgrounds, who share critical insights to help readers draw from their successes and avoid repeating their mistakes.

Interested in shellfish? We have lots of resources for getting started with your favorite bivalves as well, including a flowchart that outlines how to sell shellfish, and a pocket guide that helps you make sure you have all the licenses you need for every step of the way.

Webinar, recorded 4/13/21.

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