Maine’s aquaculture sector is mainly made up of small, beginning farmers who helped drive a 51% increase in the sector’s economic contribution from $137.6 million in 2014 to $208.1 million in 2023, a new study shows.
“This sector supports young people staying in Maine, fishermen diversifying their income and families feeding their communities with fresh, local food,” said Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association.
Job growth
The total number of jobs — the majority of which are full-time, year-round positions — jumped by 60% from 1,078 to 1,720.
The findings, based on farm-level data from a 2025 survey, are in a report by Christian Brayden, an economist at the Maine Aquaculture Association in partnership with the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Atlantic Corp., Texas A&M University and Mississippi State University.
“We’re not just growing seafood — we’re growing small businesses, careers, knowledge, innovation and community resilience,” said Belle.
Leading seafood source
Throughout most of the 1900s, aquaculture was relatively rare in Maine, largely used to restock wild populations of clams and finfish. Today, aquaculture has grown into one of the leading sources of Maine seafood, and the growth remains steady, the report says.
The sector’s direct economic contribution in 2023 was $105.9 million, with an additional $57.5 million from supply chain effects and $44.7 million in household spending.
If the direct economic contribution of lobster is excluded from calculations, the aquaculture industry’s direct contribution represents 69% of the state’s seafood value.
The sector consists primarily of finfish, shellfish and seaweed farmers, but also includes processors, transportation providers, storage providers, service providers, retailers, boat builders, researchers and nonprofits.
Shellfish production includes oysters and mussels. Seaweed includes sugar kelp and farmed finfish includes salmon and trout. Farmed finfish is the second most valuable fishery in the state, the report says.
The top three species by sales revenue are Atlantic salmon, eastern oysters and blue mussels.
Oyster farm’s trajectory
A third of businesses have been operating for fewer than five years, 44% for six to 10 years and only 21% for more than 10 years.
“Maine aquaculture grew the right way,” said Ryan McPherson, owner of Glidden Point Oyster Farms on the Damariscotta River in Edgecomb. “It didn’t boom. It was built slowly, carefully, with farmers who care about their communities and the waters they’re working in.”
McPherson previously worked in wild-caught fisheries in the northeast. He relocated to Maine to purchase Glidden Point in 2016, at which time the businesses employed three to four seasonal workers.
Today, the farm employs 22 year-round employees and an additional 15 in the summer. McPherson said Glidden Point is geographically about the same size as it was when he bought it, about 26 acres leased on the Damariscotta River. But oyster production has increased at an average of 20% each year. He attributed that to more employees and more efficient farming practices.
Globally, aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector and provides more seafood by weight than capture fisheries.
Filling the gap
The U.S. imports over 80% of its seafood. According to the report, Maine is positioned to help fill the gap due to the state’s cold clean waters, population skilled in working on the water and access to over 150 million consumers within a day’s drive.
Potential growth in Maine’s industry includes apprenticeship programs in partnership with the farms and diversification into aquaculture-centric tourism, such as raw bars and farm tours for visitors.
“This isn’t a tech startup,” said McPherson. “We’re farmers. Growth here is hard-won, season by season, and that’s exactly what makes it rewarding.”
The study can be found on the Maine Aquaculture Association website under “Aquaculture In Maine.”
