♫ Sound of rushing water and a ship’s bell ♫ Narrator: Aquaculture of sea scallops has been developing steadily
in Maine for about 20 years. It offers new opportunities for former
and existing commercial fishermen. It's also helping coastal communities
in Maine become more resilient to impacts from climate change and loss of
traditional fisheries opportunities. Mike Pentony: Fishermen in our region
are facing a number of challenges today. Aquaculture presents
some really interesting opportunities to our commercial fishing industry,
both the individual fishermen and the communities
that depend upon commercial fishing. Kevin Madley: We're seeing
fishermen in Maine begin to diversify their operations
by incorporating aquaculture. They are preparing themselves
to be resilient to changes to their current fishing
practices. Marsden Brewer: The reason I ended up
scallop sea farming was, back when my son was in high school, I was looking at what
there was for opportunities. I grew up,
you know, from a fishing family and when I got started,
I had every opportunity in the world. This generation didn't
have that opportunity. Right now we're down to one fishery and what we’re trying to do here is
to create an option. Andrew Peters: I got into scallop farming
because I was trying to figure out a way to make a living from working on the water
and from the water. Hugh Cowperthwaite: The Japanese have been
sea scallops since the mid 1930s. It started out as a collection enhancement
technique and over the years they've really refined the technology
into an aquaculture industry. Andrew Peters: It's quite sustainable in
the sense that shellfish aquaculture, there are no additives. You're providing a great place
for the scallops to live and you're just trying to keep ‘em happy
and they filter the water that goes by. Andrew Peters: To introduce scallops to
our farm, we collect wild spat, the larval scallops
that are floating around in the ocean. We introduce scallop seed on the farm, say July and August, almost a year
after putting out spat collector bags. We put the scallops in lantern nets,
which are cylindrical condos. Then, as the scallops grow
through the summer, into the fall,
the stocking density needs to change. The scallops will stay in those nets
through the winter ‘til the following spring or summer. We decided to go with the ear
hanging option for grow out because we see it as the most feasible
for scaling up an operation. If you decrease the stocking density
as the scallops get bigger and bigger, you need more and more lantern nets
and therefore more and more space. So by using the dropper lines, you're able
to increase the density on the farm. You're able to keep more scallops
on a long line per foot. Hugh Cowperthwaite:
With a farm scallop product, a grower can choose different sizes
to go to market. Marsden Brewer: We sell to some
of the finest chefs in the country. Andrew Peters: Currently,
we're selling scallops to some local restaurants
as whole animals. We're also distributing scallops through
a couple of wholesalers in the state. We're also trying to explore a premium shucked product. Hugh Cowperthwaite: Maine's wild
fisheries have become very focused on one resource, the lobster industry,
and in an effort to help fishermen diversify income
and not have all their eggs in one basket, aquaculture allows that opportunity. Marsden Brewer: In order
for a waterfront to stay alive you've got to be having something to sell. You got to be landing product. You've got to bring new money
into your community. And this does it. Andrew Peters: A huge reason of
why we picked scallops to farm over other species was the amount of support
from interested parties. Organizations
such as Coastal Enterprises, Inc. are supporting farms with knowledge and education from acting as a hub,
bringing different entities together. High Cowperthwaite:
A farm scallop is not meant to compete or displace wild fishery scallops. It's simply a different product offering. Narrator:
With the support of many partners the future of sea scallop
farming in Maine is promising. Andrew Peters: I wouldn't be doing this
without the support of many, many people. ♫
