In recent years, consumer curiosity about seafood sourcing has opened a new revenue stream for aquaculture businesses: farm tours. Our company has become one of New England’s leading providers of aquaculture tourism, hosting thousands of visitors annually and developing protocols that prioritize safety while educating the public about shellfish and seaweed farming.
This presentation will share the challenges and opportunities of integrating agritourism into aquaculture operations, with particular focus on licensing, insurance, liability management, and quality of visitor experience. We will also highlight how tours can generate new revenue, strengthen direct-to-consumer sales, and build public trust in aquaculture.
By establishing best practices and sharing lessons learned from trial and error, we hope to inspire other farms to responsibly adopt tourism as a strategy for diversification, community engagement, and industry growth