2025 Aquaculture in Shared Water 1.0: Entry-Level Training Course

This course is being offered for people living in Maine who plan to start an aquaculture business. Given that this is an entry-level course, the target audience is new and very early farmers. Farmers with existing, revenue-producing businesses will be better suited to AQSW 2.0 which will run in the fall of 2025. We encourage applications for this program from: 

• People planning to start an aquaculture business in the next two years
• Those with a working waterfront background who are interested in starting an aquaculture business
• People who have recently acquired an LPA but are pre-revenue

The course is free of charge to all participants and runs from January to May 2024. You must be a full-time resident of Maine to participate. In order to encourage community-building and connections within the student cohort, we will prioritize applicants who can commit to attending all of the classes.

Participants in this workshop series will:

• Gain understanding of introductory aquaculture topics, including biology of species, site selection, gear set-ups, and the permitting process
• Build skills in seamanship, business, safety, marketing, and more
• Network and connect with instructors, experts, and other early-aquaculturists
• Be empowered to share experiences and learnings with their student cohort

January 21st, 6-8PM

Welcome to AQSW! We’ll start off with introductions, a course survey, and review course expectations. Next, we’ll dive into an intro to aquaculture, stewardship, and responsibilities. 

January 28th, 6-8PM

Explore key factors to consider in selecting a farm site including access, multiple use, exposure and weather, physical and biological characteristics, climate-related impacts, and social dimensions. We’ll also discuss monitoring and assessment equipment and methods.

February 4th, 6-8 PM

Discover how to lease or license an aquaculture site in Maine waters. We’ll cover allocation of rights, leasing mechanisms, the lease process, performance bonding, and more. Plus, we’ll discuss do’s and don’t with experts and guest speakers from Maine DMR.

February 11th, 6-8 PM

Interacting with the community is a key part of being an aquaculture farmer. In this class we'll discuss some strategies for effectively communicating with people about your farm and for being a good neighbor to other members of the waterfront community. 

February 18th, 6-8PM

Learn life cycles, basic anatomy, links between these species and the environment, species seasonality, major predators, and food and nutrient requirements for bivalves.

February 25th, 6-8PM

Learn life cycles, basic anatomy, links between these species and the environment, species seasonality, major predators, and food and nutrient requirements for seaweeds.

March 4th, 6-8PM

A deep dive into sourcing shellfish seed! We’ll explore seed collection and sourcing, nurseries, and upwellers of all sorts for oysters, mussels, and scallops. 

March 11th, 6-8PM

A whole evening of oyster production, including all sorts of grow-out strategies, farm designs, gear varieties, and processing set-ups, as well as other species specific considerations! 

March 18th, 6-8PM

A whole evening of mussel production, including all sorts of grow-out strategies, farm designs, gear varieties, and processing set-ups, as well as other species specific considerations! 

March 25th, 6-8PM

A whole evening of sea scallop production, including all sorts of grow-out strategies, farm designs, gear varieties, and processing set-ups, as well as other species specific considerations! 

April 1st, 6-8PM

It’s kelp night! We’ll cover kelp seed sourcing, nurseries, farm designs, seasonal cultivation, harvest and handling, processing, and how to get your kelp sold! We’ll also have an interactive discussion about value added products.

April 8th, 6-8PM

Keep your consumers safe! In this public health class we’ll cover water quality and how it affects shellfish and seaweed, as well as vibrio, biotoxins, and safe shellfish and seaweed handling.

April 15th, 6-8PM

Explore critical aspects of reducing risk on your farm and farms around you. Learn the basics of shellfish disease and pathology, transmission and prevention, and biosecurity measures.

April 22nd, 6-8PM

Develop your business plan! This class will provide helpful tools and explore why to write a business plan, what’s in one, and how to determine your costs and income, including start-up vs. continuing operations costs and calculating the value of your time.

April 29th, 6-8PM

Determine how to market and sell your products. We’ll cover the difference between sales and marketing, competitors and competitive advantage, transportation, distribution, marketing plans, and low-cost tactics for small farms. We’ll also discuss state licensing for dealers.

Field trips will give participants opportunities for hands-on engagement with a variety of aquaculture systems. Field trips will be scheduled between January 21st  (course start date) and June 1st.