In 2019, NOAA Sea Grant funded the creation of eleven advanced aquaculture collaborative programs, or Hubs, to “provide broad, non-proprietary support and investment for building and/or enhancing an aquaculture industry”. Born out of longstanding partnerships, the Maine Aquaculture Hub (MAH) formed in order to identify barriers to the industry and design activities to address those barriers. Since its inception, a project coordinator has directed MAH’s activities in collaboration with Maine Sea Grant, Aquaculture Research Institute, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Maine Aquaculture Association, and University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Each of these organizations brings unique expertise, capacities, and perspectives to the Hub’s shared work.
From 2019-2022, the Maine Aquaculture Hub focused on: 1) improving and delivering Aquaculture in Shared Waters, a community-based aquaculture training program which offers trainings for fishermen and sea farmers based in Maine; 2) funding industry-led research projects through a responsive Request for Proposals; 3) developing and writing a shared statewide vision for the future of Maine’s aquaculture industry, the Maine Aquaculture Roadmap. The steering committee used findings from that Roadmap in part to shape its priorities for 2022-2024, focusing on maintaining and strengthening the network, implementing aquaculture and education needs identified by Hub participants, and strengthening and diversifying existing aquaculture training programs.
Maine’s aquaculture industry is evolving rapidly, creating a needs landscape in which priorities shift continuously in ways both anticipated and unexpected. Reviewing the interdisciplinary, collaborative work achieved by the Maine Aquaculture Hub over the past five years is an opportunity to reflect on the industry’s trajectory in Maine, assess the impact of the Hub’s work, and consider potential future directions for the Maine Aquaculture Hub network.