Ninety percent of all the large ocean fish are gone, blared headlines across the country recently. That startling conclusion was based on long-term declines in catches reported in a leading scientific journal. Whether you agree with the numbers or not, one inescapable fact is that Maine fishermen are hard hit by shrinking fish stocks and their jobs are in jeopardy. So too are the jobs of those who process, package and transport marine resources, if current trends continue.

Yet as wild stocks diminish, people are eating more and more fish. Howard Johnson, a seafood economist, told this year’s Fishermen’s Forum that aquaculture will fill the gap between the growing demand for seafood and dwindling wild catches. Johnson said 1.1 billion more pounds of fish will be needed by the year 2020. Much of it will come from aquaculture. The Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center (MAIC) sponsored Johnson’s presentation to get people thinking about how aquaculture can help sustain working waterfronts.

On June 5, Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii took to the Senate floor to point out the increasing importance of aquaculture. Akaka said, “Global aquaculture production has increased at an average rate of 9.2 percent per year since 1970, compared with only 1.4 percent for capture fisheries and 2.8 percent for terrestrial farmed meat production systems.”

Maine officials have been thinking about aquaculture for some time. In 1988, the legislature created the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center to foster the development of environmentally responsible and sustainable aquaculture. Aquaculture now is one of the seven targeted industries in the

state’s economic development plan. MAIC has two business incubators up and running – one in Walpole at UMaine’s Darling Marine Center and the other in Franklin at UMaine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research. A third, at Washington County Community College in Eastport, will break ground later this summer.

Recently, a tenant in one of our incubators – a company growing sea worms – came under fire by worm diggers who feared they would be put out of business. (“Making them squirm,” BDN, June 14) Though I can understand why worm diggers might be concerned, there is no cause for alarm.

Peter Cowin, Seabait’s managing director, spent a great deal of time analyzing the U.S. market before deciding to open a U.S. subsidiary of his successful, 18 year-old English company. Cowin found that high prices and erratic supply are driving sport fishermen to switch from sea worms to other bait and lures. The real competition for dug worms is alternative bait, not farmed worms. He believes a steady supply of high quality worms from Maine can get that market back and provide enough demand for both dug and farmed worms. A large part of the farmed worm production also goes to feed aquaculture brood stock, which doesn’t compete with dug worms.

That’s the kind of thinking that catches our attention at MAIC. Aquaculture is going to be practiced somewhere in the world, why not in Maine? If it’s done here we get the jobs and the benefit of the technology. Recently we met with Ed Hagan, the Jonesport worm dealer, to discuss ways worm diggers and farmers can work together. Hagan is skeptical, but we will keep talking.

MAIC doesn’t see aquaculture or capture fisheries as an “either/or” proposition. We see the two fitting together. That’s why we set up a visit by Mainers to Japan to learn about its “hybrid” fishery that cultures scallops for reseeding. Or why we are encouraging mussel draggers to learn about rope culture and bottom seeding.

There will always be capture fisheries. Yet, as Americans eat more and more seafood, aquaculture will gain in importance. The two can work nicely together. It’s our job to see that it happens in Maine.

Michael Hastings is executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center in Orono.