The seemingly-rapid advance of the nascent sea scallop farming industry in Maine belies the 20+ years that came before, where many distinct and smaller steps contributed to today’s knowledge. The current state of technology and industry engagement can be traced perhaps as staring from a technology transfer trip to Aomori Prefecture in Japan in 1999, but ties between Aomori and Maine have existed for much longer, dating back to the wreck of the Maine-built ship Chesbrough, October 30th, 1889, off the coast of Shariki.
In the last 22 years, many steps have been taken to advance the possibilities for scallop stock enhancement and for intensive aquaculture. Optimizing spat collection, leasing and licensing changes to allow for easier experimentation with nursery and growout, adoption of proven equipment and trials of new gear and machinery, biotoxin testing, market development, and ongoing outreach have all played their role. Significant guidance, advice and relationships with Japanese counterparts and colleagues has been critical for the acquisition and adoption of husbandry techniques and equipment, as has been expertise gained from colleagues in the Atlantic provinces of Canada. A trip in 2016, led by Maine-based Coastal Enterprises, Inc. has proven to be a pivotal event, galvanizing interest and understanding, and leading to the first-ever aquaculture cooperative in the state, which is focused on scallop farming, and which is comprised of people having fishing and farming backgrounds alike.
More recently, scallop aquaculture has provided opportunities in a broadening suite of endeavor: training and educational opportunities for younger and graduate students; the use of aquaculture techniques such as spat collection as a platform to investigate larval drift, source-sink dynamics and coastal oceanography; methods development and approvals for new biotoxin detection processes, equipment and supplies to industry, sales and marketing of unusual products such as whole/live scallops, and business and financial services to producers. This once-discrete field of work is growing its own ecosystem, as part of Maine’s working waterfront and the scientific/educational/services communities.