Resources Database

Discusses what marketing is and why it is important including developing a marketing plan, market outlets, and personalizing the products and the business.

A study to provide an up-to-date and accurate annual statewide economic contribution of Maine’s aquaculture industry and determine aquaculture business owner and farm demographics.

Reviews the benefits of developing a biosecurity plan and a step-by-step outline on how to develop a plan that will protect your farm from disease-causing organisms or pathogens.

This guide was created to help the emerging seaweed industry understand the prevailing regulatory requirements surrounding the production of seaweeds as food. There are currently two regulations that are being used to regulate seaweeds at either the federal or state level: the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food (GMP/PCHF) regulation and the Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point regulation. This guide will help the reader understand the similarities and differences between the two regulations and help the reader understand how their operation might be regulated.

This report addresses biofouling management in relation to marine aquaculture industry operations, equipment and infrastructure. It covers shellfish, finfish and seaweed operations in estuaries and seawater. It does not address freshwater aquaculture activities.

DMR resources for growers including approved hatcheries, biosecurity, shellfish sanitation, harvest and reporting, and forms.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources' online licensing and landings system, called LEEDS (Licensing Enforcement and Environmental Data System) is now available. In order to apply for a new license or renew a license with the system, you first need to create a login for LEEDS

This non-profit organization helps export Northeast food and agricultural products overseas since 1973. They provides a wide range of services to facilitate trade between local food suppliers and importers around the world including: export education, self-paced training & expert advice, customized export assistance, new market analysis, international marketing &branding, facilitate meetings with international buyers, and a cost-share funding program.

A critical study that describes the growth potential for Maine's edible seaweed market over the next fifteen years. This report documents the size and nature of the business opportunity and identifies the requirements for sustainable growth.

Kelp offers a promising way for fishermen to diversify their income streams in the lobster offseason, and it's also the newest seafood product GMRI verified under their Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested® label. The Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested® label is a promise that seafood hails from the clean, cool waters of the Gulf of Maine and the fishery or farm is managed in a way that contributes to the long-term health of the resource. The label empowers consumers to buy seafood they can feel good about.

This report is based on the research priorities survey conducted in June 2019 of Maine’s aquaculture community and is compared with surveys from 2012 and 2016 to look at trends. There have been some changes in the prioritization of needs since 2016, but many of the same research, development, and education (R&D&E) needs persist and remain unaddressed. As expected, there are different R&D&E priorities for different aquaculture sectors.

In-depth paper on the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Reviews the keys to running a successful business; the four P's of marketing, wholesale distributors, risks, and sales.

A study the researched and inventoried the seasonality, sources, and market utilization of locally produced seafood within the state and help educate food consumers at many different levels about the opportunities for gaining access to Maine seafood.

Intended to help prospective farmers to identify, record, monitor, and manage production hazards, and ultimately minimize production-related risk. Discusses types of risk in aquaculture, record keeping, environmental conditions, biofouling organisms, predators, diseases, parasites, invasive species, and operational procedures.

Reviews business management skills, such as finance, record keeping, marketing, and personnel management. More aquaculture businesses fail because of poor management than poor production practices.