PenBay Farmed Scallops
The area of East Penobscot Bay including the archipelago of islands off Stonington, Maine, is recognized as one of our nation’s outstanding ecological treasures. It is here that fishermen Marsden Brewer and son Bob are leading Maine into sustainable scallop aquaculture. After years of regulations limiting scallop harvest to wild-caught adductor meats only, farmed young whole scallops are once again available. It’s now time to get acquainted with these premier delicacies.
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Over the past thirty years fishermen and aquaculturists here in Maine have begun raising mussels, oysters, clams, kelp, and now scallops are being raised in our cool clean waters. Let Marsden Brewer, third generation Maine fisherman, be your guide through these pages and introduce you to this new adventure. He has been fishing all his life, whether it’s what he calls low water urchining, scalloping, or off shore ground fishing, shrimping and lobstering
Knowing Penobscot Bay so well, Marsden sees that we are entering an era where the fishermen need to adapt to turn harvesting from today’s ocean into a sustainable success story.
President of the Maine Aquaculture Co-operative and former member of the Department of Marine Resources Advisory Council, Marsden served as selectman for the town of Stonington for 6 years and so has his wife Donna. She is currently a Stonington selectman while running Red Barn Farm, their retail shop featuring lobsters and their farm products.
Son Bob is Vice President of the Maine Aquaculture Co-operative. He also fishes and accompanied Marsden and the group who went to Japan to learn about scallop aquaculture techniques. Father and son have collaborated with scientists and worked on scallop spat collection and stock enhancement for over 15 years together.
“The Maine Aquaculture Co-op (Co-op) is Maine’s first aquaculture cooperative, with a board and membership comprised of Maine fishermen and aquaculturists. We seek to expand Maine’s seafood-producing industries through the thoughtful integration of fishing and farming, to diversify income opportunities for Maine fishermen, maintain our robust working waterfront, and strengthen our coastal communities. By working cooperatively, we are better able to solve technical difficulties, share best practices and resources, and leverage buying and marketing power.”
On a recent visit back to Maine, Senator Angus King expressed his support for aquaculture as a way of diversifying our seafood industries."This is really a part of the future of Maine," he a said.
“Having my son working with me, in my life daily, that is a special gift,” says Marsden. “Watching Bobby grow up here has moved me to work for a future for the fishing community.”
But can they cook? This father/son team took home the trophy for their entry in the Men Who Cook contest with their PenBay Princess scallops on the half shell.
Whether you are a chef or a home cook you will find interesting whole scallop facts on these pages. If you are a seafood dealer or a fisherman considering adding scallop farming to your tool kit, you have come to the right place for information about this new opportunity.
Penbay farmed scallops