A rendering of the aquaculture workforce innovation center slated to be built at the University of Maine at Orono. Rendering by SMRT Architects & Engineers

The state university system is building a $10.3 million research center meant to train future workers for careers in aquaculture and to help solve problems fish and oyster farms are facing in Maine.

Construction is slated to begin in October and last about a year, with the facility expected to open in late 2025. Groundbreaking was delayed from August because of difficulties sourcing the steel frame. The project is partially funded by the federal government and must comply with the Build America Buy America Act, which requires construction materials to be produced in the United States.

The 14,200-square-foot facility is being designed by SMRT Architects & Engineers, which also designed the Roux Institute in Portland and the new career center and student residence hall at the University of Southern Maine.

The center will be built at the flagship campus in Orono, on the same site as the former Aquaculture Research Center off Sebago Road, a converted chicken barn that was used for over thirty years before being torn down in 2022.

The project has a budget of over $10.3 million, including $7 million in federal funds and congressionally directed spending secured by Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King. The remaining $3.335 million comes from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan.

Designs are currently being finalized, with the board of trustees voting unanimously at its July meeting to use up to $1.5 million of the budget to continue that process.

“(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. “(It can) hopefully be a help to resolving any issues before they become problems.”

Maine’s aquaculture industry is rapidly expanding, and with that comes the need for more workers said Deborah Bouchard, director of the University of Maine’s Aquaculture Research Institute.

The economic impact of aquaculture in Maine nearly tripled in 10 years, from $50 million in 2007 to $137 million in 2017, according to the most recent report the university published on the industry.

“It was the industry coming to us saying that they needed staff to fill positions, so it was really on a workforce development purpose,” Bouchard said about the need for a new, larger facility. “This was the opportune time to address workforce development and recirculating aquaculture systems.”

Chris Hedberg, farm director at Mere Point Oyster Company, said that programs that get young people into the industry have been immensely helpful in providing workers. He pointed to Maine Career Catalyst’s Aquaculture Pioneers and the Maine Aquaculture Association’s apprenticeship program as good examples.

The new research facility will include scaled-down replicas of tools used at commercial aquaculture farms, such as biofiltration and water quality systems, allowing students to get hands-on industry experience. Programs will focus on topics such as fish nutrition, sustainability and the impacts of climate change.

“The earlier you can get in and the more you can learn early on, the better off you’ll be,” Hedberg said. “There’s so many new directions that are evolving through the industry, so having younger generations learn them, it only benefits everyone.”

UMaine also is planning to partner with the Penobscot Nation and other Wabanaki tribes to account for their concerns and views, including on tribal food sovereignty and economic development.

“It’s opening a lot of doors to new research,” Bouchard said.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the support for the project. The project received state and federal funding and must comply with the Build America Buy America Act.