Sustainable Aquaculture Communities

Aquaculture is experiencing extremely fast growth in Maine, as it is in other parts of the country and around the world.  Fishing is a critical part of Maine's economy; aquaculture is becoming more and more prevalent as commercial fishermen seek to diversify their income and new entrepreneurs enter the market.  The aquaculture industry is growing, however, without long-range planning and with very little regulation.  Three Maine-based Fellows, Marissa McMahan, Senior Fisheries Scientist at Manomet; Josh Stoll, Assistant Professor of Marine Policy at the University of Maine; and Caitlin Cleaver, Director of Science and Research at Hurricane Island Foundation, are leading an effort to develop an open, deliberate, science-based, participatory planning process to develop a long-term vision for aquaculture in Maine's coastal waters.  Work done under this Switzer Network Innovation grant will set the stage for a longer term project that will result in identifying models of aquaculture governance that could work in Maine, establishing long-term strategies to sustain aquaculture and the communities that increasingly depend on it, and developing and delivering policy recommendations that support the sustainable development of aquaculture and help keep its benefits local.