Ocean farming training through Aquaculture in shared waters

COURTESY OF MAINE AQUACULTURE INNOVATION CENTER

Over the past 13 years, more than 500 people have joined the Aquaculture in Shared Waters (AQSW) programs, a series of trainings across Maine focused on launching careers in ocean farming. These programs cover everything from the basic ‘what is aquaculture’ to business resources to help take your ocean farm to the next level. Needless to say, you don’t need to go far in Maine’s aquaculture community to find someone who has benefited from an AQSW training opportunity!

So what makes AQSW stand out as a training program? First of all, it was started by a collaborative group of industry experts. The Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center (MAIC), the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA), Maine Sea Grant, and Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) came together in 2013 to identify the most important aspects of launching an aquaculture business in Maine and created a curriculum. With ongoing feedback from program participants and industry members, this curriculum has become the most robust introductory aquaculture training program in Maine: AQSW 1.0: Entry-Level Training! 

With growing interest in aquaculture and identification of ongoing industry training needs, the AQSW program has expanded to now offer five different training courses focused on a wide variety of topics. AQSW 1.0 continues to support entry-level farmers, while AQSW 2.0, AQSW Bootcamp, AQSW Strong Bodies/Strong Minds, and AQSW Workshops have been added. AQSW 2.0 is a special topics course designed for farmers with 1-10 years of experience looking to grow their business while AQSW Bootcamp is a good fit for farm hands coming on for a summer of fieldwork on an aquaculture farm. AQSW Strong Bodies/Strong Minds is a cohort building training that centers on a strong and supportive community, and AQSW Workshops are one-off gatherings for former AQSW participants that cover emergent industry topics. 

We strive to make AQSW programs accessible to all Mainers interested in starting an aquaculture operation, meaning we make these trainings FREE and allow hybrid participation for AQSW 1.0 and 2.0. Regardless of where you are in the state or what your budget is for attending a professional training, AQSW is an opportunity for you to explore your aquaculture dreams, take your business to the next level, and network with others in the industry.

We plan to offer the following aquaculture training opportunities in the coming year:

Workshops: 

• Damariscotta River Cruise aquaculture (in-person networking), August 28, 2026
• Business Succession Planning (online), September 24, 2026
• Lease Application Preparation (in-person), October 23, 2026
• Lease Hearing Preparation (in-person),November 13, 2026

AQSW 1.0: Entry-Level Training: 

• January-April, 2027
• 15 online classes
• 5 in-person field days

AQSW 2.0: Water Quality Monitoring:

• February-April, 2027
• 6 online classes
• 2 in-person field days