In Hot Water: The History and Growth of Aquaculture in Maine and its Challenges in Coastal Communities

The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the ocean. 

In this episode of In Hot Water, Maine, we learn more about the history of the state's aquaculture sector, kelp farming as a means to diversify income, social license, and the increasing effects of NIMBY or, Not in My Backyard, which is becoming more pervasive across the Vacationland state.

There’s no quick fix for seafood harvesters in the Gulf, but climate solutions do exist. From encouraging species diversification to actively involving frontline communities, changemakers are leading a new path for seafood in Maine

Produced by Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE) and Seaworthy, the “In Hot Water” podcast explores SEAFOOD and CLIMATE JUSTICE in distinct regions.

 

Episode Guide

• :00 Intro to In Hot Water, Maine Edition
• 01:52 Meet Sam Altznauer, director of Canopy Farms, an aquaponics facility located in downtown Brunswick, Maine 
• 03:12 While some lobster harvesters are leaving Maine altogether, some are finding new opportunities to diversify into kelp farming
• 11:50 Social license to operate. What is it?
• 13:25 What the fish? White, older lobstermen have social license to operate in Maine’s coastal communities, which seems exclusionary. We dive deeper on why this is problematic.
• 20:58 Meet Jaclyn Robidoux with Maine Sea Grant and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, a university-based program under NOAA that does research extension and education, who also has a program to support lobster harvesters diversify their income 
• 26:23 A brief history of aquaculture in Maine
• 29:17 Opposition to the growth of aquaculture in Maine
• 33:50 Overcoming the NIMBY mindset around aquaculture in Maine
• 38:36 Gentrification of Maine’s coastal communities
• 44:06 Meet Seraphina Erhart, manager of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables, which sells wild-harvested seaweed products. Between NIMBY and gentrification, access to these wild seaweeds is becoming tenuous.
  

Resources

1. 1. Recommend this series to anyone who enjoys seafood and is curious about how climate change is affecting our seafood-producing regions.