By Jacob Murphy
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WESTPORT ISLAND, Maine (WMTW) — Andrew Buchner started farming oysters for two years. He has about two years to go until his first harvest, but so far everything is growing well.
He has one limited purpose aquaculture license, which gives him about 400 square feet of space to farm. He was able to get started thanks to Maine Sea Grant programs.
“I was able to get accepted into an aquaculture boot camp that was put on by Maine’s Sea Grant,” he said. “It was free. It was a one-week course that was an intensive dive into aquaculture. I learned tons of information from that on how to farm.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce is renegotiating the funding for the Maine Sea Grant after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration informed the University of Maine that it was discontinuing its funding for the grant.
Sen. Susan Collins says she is working to restore the Maine Sea Grant, but she is confident that it will be reinstated.
“I am quite certain that once we get the new application in that it will be accepted, and the funds will be distributed,” she said.
In the meantime, farmers like Buchner are left wondering how different the Maine Sea Grant will look in the future and if any programs will be cut.
Buchner says they are able to provide marine biologists to answer any questions, and help them solve problems with their farm when they arise.
“If it doesn’t come back, a guy like me could have an event where I just don’t know who to contact. Or, by the time I actually get an answer to what’s happening on my farm, my oysters are all dead. And then I’m out thousands of dollars,” he said. “It’s providing uncertainty not just for me, but for all the other farmers in Maine,”
Jesse Roche has been working on the water through lobstering and scalloping, but wants to add oyster farming to diversify his income. The Maine Sea Grant is a resource that he can lean on.
“They help guide regulatory actions. They help guide the science. And it’s not just for the farms, this is also for lobstering, it’s for the groundfish industry,” Roche said.
Now that he’s looking to get into an oyster farmer, Roche says they have been able to help him through the application process. As it gets harder to get waterfront property, he says it’s important to be able to support new farmers
“It helps us out in the Mid Coast and other places in Maine to preserve that working waterfront,” he says.
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