Project Grant 20227003338192

The Community Shellfish Company, LLC received a $568,136 Project Grant award from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program. The grant will support the launch of Merroir.me, a new digital brand experience and direct-to-consumer marketing campaign to promote Maine seafood products in Connecticut and Rhode Island through 2024. Specifically, Community Shellfish Company will produce original videos, a website and...

Maine Shellfish Developers LLC received a $256,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program. The award will support the development of a cost-effective means of culturing large volumes of microalgae for land-based oyster farming through April 2023. The grantee aims to advance microalgae production at scale using spent yeast from breweries as a substrate. The microalgae will be used as feed for oysters farmed on land...

The Maine Shellfish Developers LLC received a $106,500 Project Grant award from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program (CFDA 10.212). The grant funded the purchase of an alternate feed in support of land-based oyster farming. The SBIR/STTR programs aim to stimulate technological innovation through the investment of federal research funds to...

Ocean Approved Inc., doing business as Atlantic Sea Farms, received a $173,763 Project Grant award on August 15, 2025, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (CFDA 10.212). The project, with a completion date of April 14, 2027, focuses on developing commercial-scale aquaculture technology for dulse (Palmaria palmata) cultivation, specifically addressing the critical nursery phase...

Federal Project Grant Award Summary The University of Maine received a $649,871 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310), awarded April 1, 2026, with completion scheduled for March 31, 2029. The project delivers comprehensive research and stakeholder engagement services focused on understanding market valuation of novel seafood production technologies....

Mere Point Oyster Co received a $207,805 Project Grant award dated August 18, 2025, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Cooperative Services under the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP, CFDA 10.175). The two-year project, with completion scheduled for August 18, 2027, supports the development and expansion of local and regional food systems in Maine. As a component of the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), this funding enables the awardee to...

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) was awarded a $906,390 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) to cultivate triple bottom line resilience for beginning farmers in Maine and Vermont. The goal of the three-year project beginning September 15, 2022 is to help beginning farmers and ranchers in the two states enter and improve their successes in farming...

Federal Grant Award Summary Springtide Seaweed LLC received a $169,822 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (CFDA 10.212), awarded on August 15, 2025, with completion targeted for April 14, 2027. The grant supports the development of integrated seaweed and sea urchin aquaculture systems in Gouldsboro, Maine. Springtide Seaweed will establish reliable hatchery systems...

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) awarded a $2,000,000 Congressional Grants Program (CFDA 59.059) Project Grant to the University of Maine System (UMS) on October 1, 2024. The grant supports small business development and entrepreneurship initiatives, with a focus on underserved communities. Under this award, UMS will partner with Vertical Bay, a Maine-based sea scallop aquaculture company, to develop novel production models and conduct life cycle assessments to analyze the...

Tridentis Advanced Marine Vehicles LLC and the Watershed Innovation Laboratory at Washington College will develop technology and monitoring solutions for near-shore aquaculture installations under a $149,865 project grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Specifically, the awardees will establish baseline water quality and shellfish testing for aquaculture farms, then develop an efficient and cost-effective material solution to continuously monitor environmental...