The One Climate Future team is excited to announce an in-person summer series of Coffee & Climate events, starting with Gulf of Change: A Discussion on Climate Change and Resiliency in Maine’s Aquaculture Industry.

Please join the One Climate Future team for an in-person event at the Hús, the New England Ocean Cluster’s collaborative space at 68 Commercial St. in Portland, Thursday, May 11 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. This month’s Coffee & Climate, Gulf of Change: A Discussion on Climate Change and Resiliency in Maine’s Aquaculture Industry, kicks off a month’s-long conversation about aquaculture with a panel discussion on climate resilience in Maine’s aquaculture industry and related opportunities in developing sustainable and resilient local food systems.

Together, our panelists Libby Davis (Lady Shuckers), Jesse Baines (Atlantic Sea Farms), Bill Needelman (waterfront coordinator for Portland), and Peter Stocks (South Portland harbor commissioner) share their expertise on climate adaptation and how the aquaculture industry is working to stem the tide of climate change in Casco Bay. We hope you’ll join us.

To register, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/gulf-of-change-tickets-617842632947.

Why aquaculture? Why now?

Let’s start with a definition.

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic plants and animals in marine environments, including freshwater, estuary, coastal, and open ocean ecosystems. Aquaculture uses techniques like open ocean pens and line or rope growing to produce seafoods like salmon, oysters, and mussels, and seaweeds like kelp.

Although different from marine harvest, which is the wild-caught seafood Maine is so well-known for, both are inextricably linked. Aquaculture has long been a method of food production across Maine, but has taken on more importance amidst climate change as a way to supplement ever-shrinking native fisheries and our waterfront economies.

Much of the state’s aquaculture is produced by owner-operator fishermen, who are able to use the same equipment and manpower to grow and harvest many different species year-round. This also means that the economic impact from both adjacent sectors – aquaculture and marine harvest – largely stays here in Maine, benefitting our communities.

Today, aquaculture is a multimillion-dollar industry employing more than 650 individuals (as of 2019) in Maine. Ongoing research, technological advancements, and the opening of new coastal management zones by the state makes aquaculture a growth industry here and all across the United States. Annual Maine harvests value roughly $85-105 million/year, with more than $140 million as total economic impact in the state.

South Portland and aquaculture

South Portland is tied to aquaculture in so many ways – economically, geographically, and socially. For many South Portland community members, aquaculture and marine harvest aren’t only a means of employment; life on the ocean has significant cultural importance.

All of South Portland’s watersheds drain into Casco Bay and the greater Gulf of Maine. Everything that ends up in our ponds, streams, and rivers continues on into our oceans, where they can have an outsized impact – such as increased acidification or toxicity and eutrophication or nutrient overloads – on aquaculture.

To protect our watersheds, South Portland has adopted a watershed management plan which addresses “urban impaired streams” like Trout Brook and allows for an influx of state and federal funding for improvements. The city has also adopted ordinances prohibiting the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, which help to limit nutrient runoff.

For more information about South Portland’s watershed management plan, visit, www.southportland.org/files/8415/4352/4796/TB_Final_WMP.pdf.

Our Sustainable City is a recurring column in the Sentry intended to provide residents with news and information about sustainability initiatives in South Portland. Follow the Sustainability Office on Instagram @soposustainability.

Steve Genovese is an AmeriCorps/Greater Portland Council of Governments Resilience Corps fellow serving in the South Portland Sustainability Office through September 2023. He can be reached at sgenovese@southportland.org.

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