Aquaculture panel sets second meeting

The Governor’s Task Force on the Planning and Development of Marine Aquaculture in Maine will hold its second meeting Thursday and Friday, Sept. 4 and 5, at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole. Legislators created the 11-member task force during the last session to help shape the future of aquaculture in Maine.

During the first meeting, held over two days last month in Eastport, task force members agreed that fish and shellfish farming should continue to have a role in Maine. The industry contributes $75 million to the state’s economy, according to aquaculture groups.

The first meeting focused on salmon farming in Cobscook Bay, Canada and Ireland.

This week’s meeting will focus on shellfish aquaculture, with participants visiting oyster and mussel farms in the Damariscotta River, as well as learning about how Scottish farms are managed.

The group’s new chairman, Paul Anderson of Maine Sea Grant, also took on the task of writing a draft vision statement for the group in August. Task force members will discuss this broad plan for aquaculture in Maine’s future on Friday.

All meetings of the task force are open to the public, but only task force members are permitted to participate in debate. For more information contact Andrew Fisk at the Department of Marine Resources, 624-6553, or see the task force’s Web site at http://www.state.me.us/dmr/aquaculture/aqtaskforce/