Maine OKs plans for state’s largest scallop farm

A Maine company growing scallops in Penobscot Bay that wanted to expand its operations  nearly tenfold got a slightly reduced version of those plans approved by the state on Tuesday, more than three years after starting the process.

Vertical Bay is one of a handful of small Maine aquaculture companies growing scallops, a multi-year process using long vertical lines underneath the water. Its owner-operators, Belfast couple Andrew and Samantha Peters, applied for a 20-year, state-issued lease to increase their operation in the waters west of Hog Island from about four acres to roughly 41.

Scaling up would provide a model for other people interested in growing scallops in Maine and demonstrate how it can be profitable, Andrew Peters previously told the Bangor Daily News.

Peters didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

While demand for the shellfish is enormous and scallop farming is seen as a promising economic opportunity for Maine, high equipment costs and slow growing times have been obstacles for smaller operations. Peters had said he hoped more people entering the industry would help with that, along with the ability to produce more product on a larger lease.

The Department of Marine Resources approved the application with a roughly 5-acre reduction in size to accommodate traditional scallop dragging around part of the proposed lease area’s border, according to the agency’s records. The application had received minimal public comments and no outright opposition during the process.

Another condition of the approval requires Vertical Bay to sign a memorandum of understanding that it will test its products for biotoxins, which shellfish can sometimes accumulate as they grow, before harvesting.

The cost of biotoxin testing had been another hurdle for growers, but the state established a pilot program this year to oversee and pay for it until 2027. The DMR already manages this testing for other aquaculture products.

“Scallop farming holds real promise for diversifying our fisheries and supporting our working waterfront communities, and I am so pleased to see this idea become reality,” Rep. Holly Eaton, D-Deer Isle, said in a news release announcing the pilot testing program.

Eaton introduced the bill creating the testing program, in part to support PenBay Farmed Scallops, another business growing scallops in the waters off Deer Isle.