UMaine setting up new aquaculture research and training center

Planned University of Maine aquaculture training and research center.

— Image courtesy of its architects, Andover, Mass.-based SMRT Architects and Engineers

Images from the book Maine Oysters: Stories of Resilience and Innovation

Edited from a New England Council report:

The University of Maine is working on a 14,200-square-foot addition to its Sustainable Workforce Innovation Center to serve the Pine Tree State’s growing aquaculture center.

Scheduled to open in 2025, at the university’s flagship campus, in Orono, the $10.3 million research and training center will prepare workers for aquaculture careers, and help the state address the challenges of its finfish, oyster and mussel farms.

“[The center] links research with teaching, so there’s classroom and research space together, and it brings in professionals from the aquaculture industry, academic researchers and experts and students to work together on identifying and addressing the kinds of issues that the aquaculture industry confronts,” said Trish Riley, chair of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.