BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 5, 2025
Andrew Peters was on a waitlist for a lobster license. Then he learned it was possible to farm scallops in Maine. For the last seven years, Peters and his wife Samantha have been trying to do so successfully, adapting techniques from Japan to Maine waters. Using long, vertical lines of nets tethered along four acres of Penobscot Bay off Deer Isle, they’ve found seemingly unlimited demand for the scallops they grow. Now, to find whether scallop farming really can provide sustainable small businesses for Mainers, they have applied for a 41.2-acre, 20-year standard aquaculture lease to replace their experimental lease. If the state approves the application, it would rank among the largest leases for all shellfish growing operations in Maine.