Tag Archives: scallop aquaculture
Maine’s scallop industry is offering fishermen new opportunities at sea
Marsden Brewer is a fourth-generation fisherman who still fishes for lobster. However, reduced stocks and an increase in commercial fishing regulations have led to a decrease in fishing opportunities. Marsden’s son, Bob, wanted a career working on the ocean; Marsden looked for other opportunities and saw the potential in sea scallop farming. Marsden said, “in order for a waterfront to stay alive, you gotta be having something to sell. You gotta be landing in product. You gotta bring new money into your community. And this does it, same as lobsters.” Together, Marsden and Bob created their company and have reached the point of making weekly deliveries throughout Maine coastal communities. They have plans to expand production to further meet existing demand. >click to read< 10:11
Can scallops be farmed in Penobscot Bay?
Everybody knows that the waters off Stonington are a rich source of wild scallops. Could they also be a good place to farm them? Robert Brewer of Deer Isle hopes to find out. Brewer recently applied to the for a 3.8-acre experimental aquaculture lease in East Penobscot Bay, where he plans to grow scallops on suspended ropes using the ear-hanging method developed in Japan. The technique calls for drilling a tiny hole through the flat “ear” at the base of the scallop shell and inserting a plastic pin with a small line attached. The scallops are hung in pairs along ropes called “droppers” that hang vertically beneath the surface.,,, DMR has opened a 30-day comment period for Brewer’s application. Click here to read the story 13:12
The shortest route between Maine and Japan: scallops
Last month, lobstermen Marsden Brewer and his son, Bobby, joined a delegation of Maine fishermen and aquaculturists on a visit to Aomori on the northern coast of Japan’s major island to learn about the latest techniques for cultivating scallops. Among their hosts was Hiroaki Sugiyama, an inventor and manufacturer of high-tech machinery used in Japan’s enormous scallop aquaculture industry. On Monday, the Brewers returned the favor. Sugiyama arrived in the U.S. Sunday night for a four-day visit to learn about what is happening in Maine’s nascent scallop aquaculture industry. After a stop at a newly-formed aquaculture cooperative in Spruce Head, and a boat ride to visit an experimental scallop growing operation, Sugiyama and his Maine hosts traveled to Stonington for more talk about scallop aquaculture, and a terrific lunch, hosted by Marsden and Donna Brewer at their Red Barn Farm. Read the article here 18:54
Maine fisheries experts head to Japan to learn scallop practices, buy machinery
Expanding on earlier visits to Japan, 10 aquaculture and fisheries experts from Maine are headed for Aomori Prefecture in the northern part of Japan’s main island of Honshu to learn successful techniques to grow scallops and to buy machinery to help harvest them. “Sea scallops are among the most lucrative commercial marine species caught in the United States,” Hugh Cowperthwaite, fisheries project director at Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), of Portland and the trip leader, told Mainebiz as he was preparing to leave for Aomori last Friday. Over the Oct. 1-15 visit, Maine’s scallop experts will meet with the Aomori Prefecture Fisheries Research Institute to learn about the oceanographic effects of releasing scallop larvae as well as learn to use a spat harvester. They’ll also observe scallop and marine processing facilities and see cage cleaning at the Shimokita Product Market, plus visit various fisheries cooperative associations to get aquaculture equipment training. Read the story here, and watch the video 18:27
