A group of aquaculture businesses and environmental organizations is launching a new campaign to better inform the public about Maine's farmed seafood industry.
The Maine Farmed Seafood Coalition launched Thursday at Bangs Island Mussels in Portland.
Paul Dobbins said the international group World Wildlife Fund joined the coalition because Maine has proven to be a leader in raising and regulating the farmed seafood industry.
"For these reasons we advocate for more farming to happen in the water," he said. "It's a unique position for an environmental organization to take, but there is no silver bullet in food production. Everything's a tradeoff, and we're constantly looking for less impactful food production systems."
About 80% of seafood consumed in the United States is imported, and more than half of those imports are farmed seafood.
The coalition argues that locally farmed seafood is a more environmentally friendly option than the imported alternative, and that Maine's wide array of aquaculture businesses are primed to take on the challenges facing the state's traditional fisheries.
"That diversity has proven to be essential as working waterfront communities face a number of serious challenges: changes in ocean ecosystems, gentrification of coastal communities, vast no-go zones associated with renewable energy and endangered species all present serious threats to our working waterfronts and maritime heritage," said Sebastian Belle, the executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association. "Aquaculture is being recognized as one tool that coastal communities and working waterfront families can use to face some of these challenges."
