Maine OKs plans for state’s largest scallop farm

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2025

A Maine company growing scallops in Penobscot Bay that wanted to expand its operations  nearly tenfold got a slightly reduced version of those plans approved by the state on Tuesday, more than three years after starting the process. Vertical Bay is one of a handful of small Maine aquaculture companies growing scallops, a multi-year process using long vertical lines underneath the water. Its owner-operators, Belfast couple Andrew and Samantha Peters, applied for a 20-year, state-issued lease to increase their operation in the waters west of Hog Island from about four acres to roughly 41. The Department of Marine Resources approved the application with a roughly 5-acre reduction in size to accommodate traditional scallop dragging around part of the proposed lease area’s border.