News about Aquaculture in Maine

CEI ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE SHARING MARKET DATA WITH MAINE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY

Seafood Source, 5/4/21 – “Brunswick, Maine, U.S.A.-based Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) has announced it has acquired and plans to share competitive national seafood industry sales information with Maine’s seafood industry to help businesses expand sales. The sales information consists of syndicated broadline sales data for key species harvested in Maine, with breakdowns of regional and metropolitan markets in the U.S. CEI said it purchased the data as part of its Maine Seafood Marketing Initiative, a pilot effort to establish a marketing association for the state’s seafood products.”

NATIONAL SEAFOOD INTEL TO OFFER COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR MAINE BUSINESSES

Mainebiz, 4/29/21 – “Data on national seafood sales is expected to give Maine’s aquaculture and seafood businesses a competitive edge by helping them identify the best prospects for market expansion. Coastal Enterprises Inc. has acquired competitive national seafood industry sales information as part of its Maine Seafood Marketing Initiative, a pilot effort to establish a state seafood marketing association promoting all of Maine’s seafood products, according to a news release. The nonprofit is sharing the data with Maine’s aquaculture and seafood industries.”

GROWING U.S. KELP FARMING INDUSTRY BOOSTS ECONOMIes, CAPTURES CARBON

CBS This Morning, 4/27/21 – “Seaweed has long been a delicacy in Asia, but now scientists see nutritional, economic and environmental benefits to building a robust kelp farming industry here in the United States. Ben Tracy reports.”

How America’s Only Farmed Glass Eels Are Raised in Maine

Eater, 4/24/21 – “On this episode of Dan Does, host Daniel Geneen visits American Unagi, the country’s only glass eel farm. Founder Sara Rademaker created her operation when she learned there was not a single eel growing facility within the U.S. Before American Unagi, glass eels eaten in America were caught locally as babies, flown internationally to be raised in facilities overseas, and then flown back to be served in American restaurants. Her facility aims to change that. ‘The first eels that I grew were in my basement,’ says Rademaker. ‘I hear all good startups happen there.’ The operation began when she noted that the glass eel fisheries in Maine were among the most valuable fisheries in the US. Bags of eels can be sold for up to $2,000 a pound, so she knew there was a market.”

Recycled oyster shell project targets ocean acidification along Maine coast

Portland Press Herald, 4/23/21 – “Several hundred yards offshore, nestled in the mud of the Mill Creek Estuary, an experiment is underway to reduce coastal acidification that is decimating shellfish development and threatening Maine’s $15.7 million softshell clam harvest. On Friday, researchers and volunteers laid out 120 plots of crushed oyster shells on the tidal flat behind the Hannaford Supermarket on Cottage Road. The study site is on the southern shore of Portland Harbor, near the mouth of the Fore River as it flows into Casco Bay. The experiment will test whether oyster shells collected from Portland-area restaurants can be used to reduce the acidity of tidal flats and restore shellfish production, all while keeping diners’ discarded shells out of the waste stream.”

GUEST COLUMN: WEALTHY LANDOWNERS ATTEMPTING RULE CHANGE THREATENS MAINE’S WORKING WATERFRONT

Blue Book Services, 4/7/21 – “Springworks, the largest and first certified organic aquaponic farming operation in New England, today announced plans to add 500,000 additional square feet of greenhouse space. The sizeable expansion will sustainably serve the Maine farm’s largest customers, Whole Foods and Hannaford Supermarkets, as well as a wide range of local restaurants, stores, and other outlets Springworks supplies with fresh, certified organic varieties of lettuce.”

They sell shellfish shares by the seashore: A surge of oyster CSAs

Global Aquaculture Alliance, 4/5/21 – “The pandemic has forced many links of food supply chains to adapt their models […] Creative operators pivoted to direct to consumer sales, launching Community Supported Aquaculture (CSA) programs. The CSA concept is popular with land farmers who charge customers upfront, promising weekly – or biweekly – shares of the harvest throughout the season, providing a direct connection to fresh, locally grown vegetables. Aquaculture producers have copied the model, introducing customers to farmed seafood. In the last two years, several aquaculture operations have launched community supported aquaculture programs. Little Ram Oysters, Indian River Shellfish, Emily’s Oysters and Walrus and Carpenter Oyster Farms all sell farmed oysters via CSA shares while Rolling Blue Farm operates a shrimp CSA.”