Sebastian Belle and Andrea Cianchette Maker are co-chairs of the Maine Farmed Seafood Coalition.

South Bristol fishermen and sea farmers stack lobster traps and oyster cages side-by-side on the dock at Clark’s Cove. In 1973, this working waterfront became the birthplace of Maine aquaculture when the state awarded its first aquaculture lease to seafood visionary Edward Myers.

Myers, the first mussel farmer in North America, paved the way for Maine aquaculture in South Bristol working alongside a community of traditional fishermen. Diverse fisheries still operate in Clark’s Cove — oyster, kelp and mussel farmers use the same working waterfront as five lobster boats.

Why is this Midcoast town a target for anti-aquaculture regulations? The answer: this conflict was contrived by outside groups, yet the stakes are very real.

The issue comes to a head March 10 at 7 p.m. at the South Bristol School Gym during the annual town meeting. An ordinance on aquaculture leases over one-half of an acre is up for a vote, and the residents of South Bristol will decide if the town moves forward with what is effectively an aquaculture ban. Nearby, Cushing is facing a similar vote on March 16.

Noting the proposed one-half acre limit, economist Christian Brayden of the Maine Aquaculture Association estimates that aquaculture leases in Maine do not typically sustain themselves financially until they grow to over five acres. If the ordinances pass, profitable aquaculture businesses in these towns could end, affecting dozens of livelihoods and families.

These campaigns are organized by paid aquaculture opponents who provide boilerplate ordinance language to towns. The legality of the ordinances remains in question. Some
towns in Maine claim the right to govern their own subtidal waters, but the state of Maine asserted in a 2023 statement that “…The [Maine] Department [of Marine Resources] has exclusive jurisdiction, granted in statute, to lease and license state waters for aquaculture.”

The state process to grant an aquaculture lease is rigorous with multiple standards that must be met, and both town officials and the public have multiple opportunities to weigh in. The source of conflicts is often attributed to aesthetic complaints by coastal landowners who craft narratives that provoke wild harvesters into opposing aquaculture.

Sea farming opposition stokes the fear of a faceless incursion of “industrial aquaculture” pillaging the ecosystem. Aquaculture is not faceless at all, and sea farmers are stewards of their waters. They recognize that the quality of their harvest relies on the health of the environment, and they comply with strict environmental and operating regulations. Some growers even host regular coastal cleanups.

Ordinances affect real local people making a living and preserving Maine’s marine heritage. Smokey McKeen works in Clark’s Cove. He and his partners were the pioneers who started Pemaquid Oyster Co. in 1986. Smokey believes that sea farmers should take great care of our estuaries and communities. If an ordinance passes, Pemaquid Oyster Co.’s leases would be in peril when they are up for renewal, putting a pillar of the aquaculture industry in jeopardy.

Sarah Vanacore, a relative newcomer to aquaculture, learned the trade working for other farmers, but since high school, she has dreamed of owning her own business on the water. An ordinance will put another barrier between Sarah and her goals of being self-employed and raising a family on the coast of Maine.

The Maine Farmed Seafood Coalition was founded in 2025 to act as a collective voice that tells the stories of real Maine sea farmers like Smokey and Sarah and to share information about the benefits of aquaculture to Maine. We firmly believe that supporting sea farmers is a path toward a more sustainable future for our working waterfront communities and Maine’s marine economy and culture.