Public opposition to aquaculture development has been a significant barrier to growth of the aquaculture sector in the northeast united states

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center a cooperative agreement totaling $548,627 on June 1, 2026, under the Sea Grant Support program (CFDA 11.417).

The recipient will co-develop a regional guidebook with farmers across six coastal Northeast states to advance social license for shellfish and seaweed farming operations. The guidebook addresses a documented gap in practical guidance for aquaculture farmers on community relations and stakeholder engagement—work that the award identifies as essential for individual farm business success and broader industry growth. Activities include conducting two focus group series in each participating state along with supplemental interviews with farmers and community members, creating accessible industry resources such as summary documents, infographics, and webinars to support farmer outreach, and disseminating findings through an extension component featuring a workshop series to ensure resources reach end-users and strategies are adopted by industry members.

Work is performed in Walpole and South Bristol, Maine, with a period of performance through May 31, 2029. Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center is a nonprofit organization focused on advancing sustainable aquaculture in Maine through research, education, training, and technical assistance across shellfish, seaweed, fin-fish, and recirculating aquaculture systems.

Activities

Activities include: (1) CO-developing a regional guidebook with farmers to advance social license for shellfish and seaweed farming across six coastal states in the northeast. This will involve two focus group series in each participating state, as well as supplemental interviews with farmers and community members; (2) creating accessible industry resources, including summary documents, infographics, and webinars, to support farmer community outreach; (3) disseminating findings and catalyzing industry adoption through social license workshops in each state; and (4), measuring impacts of participatory research and workshop attendance on community engagement behaviors among farmers. We will do this using a pre- and post-survey that research participants and workshop attendees will take to measure whether they increased their community engagement efforts after participating/attending workshops.

Expected outcomes

Expected near term outcomes of this project include: (1) increased farmer community engagement, (2) increased awareness of the importance of social license among farmers, (3) decreased localized opposition, (4) increased financial gains for business owners through the engagement and expansion of their networks, and (5) strengthened collaboration with aquaculture extension members and farmers in the region. Expected long term outcomes include (1) improved public perceptions of aquaculture, and (2) increased industry growth by fostering better community relations and reducing social barriers to new and existing aquaculture development.

Intended beneficiaries

Aquaculture business owners will be the primary beneficiaries. The intention of the project is to provide business support for farmers related to community engagement and public relations. This subject is exceptionally challenging, and clear guidance will help businesses owners successfully navigate this barrier to growth. Communities that have aquaculture activity will also benefit from this work. Farmers who adopt social license practices will be better neighbors and more invested community members.

Subrecipient activities

Sea grant partners from each participating state will contribute to project design, and will help connect project PIS with farmers and community members in their local area. They will also provide input on the guidebook, resources, and will help design and execute social license workshops in their own state.