Supporting Small Farms:
Before the pandemic, shellfish aquaculture was one of the few types of agriculture where small and family farms were not only thriving, but proliferating- providing livelihoods for many, while leaving a small footprint on the planet.
In a market that is increasingly dominated by larger businesses with their own distribution systems, we hope to create tools to support small independent farms, family farms, and owner-operators.
We hope that by self-identifying as small - we will give consumers a choice when shopping for shellfish.
Promoting our Unique Growing Regions
Many fine food products (wine, cheese, cured meats) are given an official seal showing their authenticity and origin-place. We believe that giving Maine oysters this sort of designation would showcase the quality and diversity of seafood produced in our state, and proclaim that we have multiple world-class food regions, each with many small artisanal farms.
We hope that defining these regions will encourage tourism and destination-eating, boost seafood consumption, and increase crop value.
It is our hope that small farms within a region will use these shared identities to facilitate cooperative marketing- without losing the value of independent farm brands.
Farms that would like to join this effort can do so free of charge here