Maine’s aquaculture is helping to restock the population of its delicious delicate sea scallops. Improving the Atlantic Sea scallop hatchery techniques for the Maine sea scallop industry is providing diversity for the seafood harvesting business offering sustainable solutions for threats faced by fishermen such as climate change.
University of Maine received a $2.1 million grant awarded from NOAA, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The grant is funding projects that advance aquaculture research to support sustainable aquaculture in Maine. Projects funded include improving Atlantic Sea scallop hatchery techniques.
Our expert speakers are Chef Robert Dumas, Food Science Innovation Coordinator and Facility Manager at the School of Food and Agriculture University of Maine; Dana Morse, University of Maine, Senior Extension Program Manager, Aquaculture Lead at the University of Maine; Togue Brawn, Owner Downeast Day Boat practicing the sustainable harvesting of sea scallops.
Rob, Dana and Togue traveled to France in April 2024, to learn more culinary uses of scallops. France is a leader in utilizing scallops in their cuisine. Their culinary preparations use all parts of the scallop, the mantal, roe, as well as the adductor muscle highly prized for its deliciousness.
Culinary aspects of preparing sea scallops will be discussed as well as scallop anatomy, history of scallops, wild harvesting of scallops and merroir. Merroir refers to the biological, chemical and physical characteristics of an environment that provide distinctive superb flavor craved by seafood lovers. Learn how aquaculture and sustainable techniques are improving the sustainable harvesting of Maine’s sea scallop industry.
Event Speaker Information:
Chef Robert Dumas – University of Maine
As the Food Science Innovation Coordinator and Facility Manager for the School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine, Rob is responsible for leveraging the resources of the university system to support economic growth in Maine’s food and agriculture sector. In addition to the School of Food and Ag, Rob also works as part of Cooperative Extension and the Office of Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Resources and Engagement, positioning him to facilitate broad-based support for Maine food producers. Rob is a Certified Executive Chef through the American Culinary Federation (currently serving as the President of the Down East Chapter) and a U.S. Navy veteran with service on both nuclear submarines and EA/PQ duty in Washington D.C. Rob earned a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont.
“As a Maine based chef, I am thrilled to be able to support scallop fisherman and farmers through education and outreach to chefs and eaters. Our group’s trip to learn about the French scallop industry will help inspire and inform our efforts to get chefs thinking about using more of the scallop, how to tell the story of scallop sustainability through the lens of both environmental and economic perspectives, and how to better market Maine scallops as a world class product.” Chef Rob Dumas, University of Maine
Dana Morse – University of Maine
Senior Extension Program Manager, Aquaculture Lead at the University of Maine.
BS in Wildlife Management, University of New Hampshire 1986
MS in Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Rhode Island 1994
Dana joined the Marine Extension Team in 1998 and is based at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole. Dana’s expertise includes educational, outreach, and applied research programs in aquaculture and commercial marine fisheries. His work is usually either technical in nature, such as fishing gear research for bycatch reduction, or more social, such as convening meetings about local aquaculture applications.
"What we're doing is to get local consumers aware of what the rest of the world knows; that scallops are delicious in a thousand different ways; much more than just seared or fried or wrapped in bacon, and that Maine scallops in particular are unbeatable in their quality, taste and sustainability." Dana Morse
Togue Brawn – Owner Downeast Day Boat
https://downeastdayboat.com/
Togue is the daughter of a commercial fisherman and has worked in Maine’s commercial fishing and seafood industries for over 30 years. As a fisheries manager for Maine’s Department of Marine Resources, she helped to bring Maine’s scallop fishery back from the brink. Passive management had led to overfishing and the commercial fishery was barely hanging on.
Togue’s mission is to show the world just how amazing Maine scallops are when they’re given the treatment they deserve: shipping or freezing them soon after harvest and NEVER letting them touch fresh water or chemicals.
***Event Qualifies for one (1) Continuing Education Unit Credit***
Event Liaisons:
Susanna Tolini: stolini1823@gmail.com
Betsey McGravey: betsey.mcgravey@imcdus.com