BY HANK GARFIELD
Maine historical novelist Kenneth Roberts (1885-1957) wrote of a time when lobsters were so plentiful along the Maine Coast that you could walk along the shore at low tide and find them among the seaweed covering the rocks in the intertidal zone. Today, it takes a bit more effort, but Maine’s drowned coast has been a bountiful provider of seafood since the last glacier receded.
Ancient shellfish middens on outlying islands attest to indigenous peoples’ awareness and use of these resources. With modern harvesting methods came increased yields, the threat of overfishing, and the pressure of demand from a hungry world.
Enter aquaculture, the practice of farming the sea.
By most accounts, the history of Maine aquaculture begins with the opening of the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in 1889. Established by Charles Atkins on an old mill site where the brook flows into Alamoosook Lake in the town of Orland, its mission was to raise Atlantic salmon in the face of an already noticeable decline of the species. For more than 100 years, the hatchery provided eggs and juvenile fish for many species of salmon to state agencies and private partners across the country. Today, the hatchery works to preserve the genetic integrity of seven river-specific species of Atlantic salmon, seeking to preserve the imperiled species for future generations.
Another milestone in Maine aquaculture occurred in 1965 with the opening of the Ira Darling Marine Center for Research Teaching and Service, commonly known as the Darling Marine Center, owned and operated by the University of Maine. Ira C. Darling was an Illinois businessman who purchased 148.6 acres of land in Walpole, on the shore of the Damariscotta River, in 1939 as a retirement home for him and his wife Clare. Darling became interested in tree farming and planted over 15,000 pine and spruce trees on the property.
When the annual trips to the Midwest and back became too difficult for the couple, Darling donated the land to the University of Maine as the site of a marine laboratory, funding it with the largest trust in the university’s history and endowed two chaired professorships.
Today, the Damariscotta River estuary, with cool, clear, nutrient-rich waters, is the heart of Maine’s booming oyster-growing business, producing some 80% of the state’s farmed oysters, and the Darling Marine Center is a primary spawning ground for young professionals entering the aquaculture industry. The center has expanded into a full marine research facility, with six faculty from the University of Maine’s School of Marine Science in residence. It has moved beyond just oysters to include research on biochemistry and microbial ecology, conservation science and policy, invertebrate biology and biodiversity, plankton ecology, and oceanography. It attracts students and industry professionals from throughout New England and the world.
The Maine Aquaculture Association formed in 1978 as an advocacy group for the industry.
“We’re a trade organization,” said outreach and development specialist Trixie Betts. “We’re the oldest aquaculture association in the country. We act as an advocacy group for studies, resource development, and environmentally responsible business practices.”
In 1987, Maine developed the nation’s first environmental monitoring program for marine aquaculture, which led to the first integrated state and federal aquaculture permitting and monitoring process two years later. In 2000, the MAA adopted a set of guiding principles based on the United Nations’ guidelines for environmentally responsible aquaculture development. In 2010, MAA partnered with Maine Sea Grant, the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center (MAIC), and UMaine’s Aquaculture Research Institute to create the nation’s first economic development plan for aquaculture.
“Maine is considered to have the gold standard for environmental regulations,” Betts said. “The working waterfront is an essential part of Maine’s history and identity. If we can keep coming up with sustainable ways to produce protein, we can carry that tradition into the future.”