Students on a Maine island started a scallop farm

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 5, 2026

A few years ago, a researcher growing scallops in Penobscot Bay who was looking to engage students in her work asked Islesboro Central School for help picking baby scallops — called spat — off her project’s net bags. On a cold, wet March day, students spent hours sorting spat, said Haley Currie-Nelson, a science teacher at the school. “They were like, ‘That was fun, can we do our own farm?’” The students ended up doing just that. They’ve since taken the lead on everything from securing the necessary state permits to deciding where to place the bags where the scallops will grow. “I kind of want to be a marine biologist,” said one.