Mon, 06/12/2023 - 5:15pm

Christina Belknap

A free event at Lincoln Theater on Thursday, June 15. Courtesy of: Island Institute

Fun fact - Maine is currently the largest producer of kelp in the United States, with farms located along our entire coastline. So why don’t we know more about it? Lincoln Theater is pleased to be partnering with Rockland’s Island Institute and Newcastle’s Shuck Station restaurant to bring you a brand-new free series, Talking Aquaculture in Maine. Join us for the first event of the series, “The Super Powers of Seaweed,” Thursday, June 15 at 7 p.m. to hear from Maine’s first commercially viable seaweed farmers-turned-seaweed market drivers at Atlantic Sea Farms, meet the Kelp Farmers and learn more about how they are creating a healthy alternative to imported seaweed products all while partnering with Maine fishermen to do it, and even leave with a recipe or two for using seaweed in your kitchen!

Talking Aquaculture in Maine is a free series of conversations with innovators who are making a substantial contribution to aquaculture here in the state of Maine. “The Super Powers of Seaweed” presentation will be hosted by Island Institute’s Susie Arnold, PhD. Susie is the Senior Ocean Scientist and Director of the Center for Climate and Community. As Senior Ocean Scientist at the Island Institute, Susie works on the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on marine resources and fisheries-dependent communities.

Susie will welcome special guests Nichole Price, PhD, Senior Research Scientist and Center for Seafood Solutions Director at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, and Liz MacDonald, the Seaweed Supply and Advancement Officer from Atlantic Sea Farms, helping a growing community of fishermen to grow the best kelp in the world.

Maine’s seaweed growing season, from late fall to early spring, makes kelp farming a great supplemental livelihood for many lobstermen and promotes diversification of the marine economy. Bigelow Laboratory and Island Institute scientists have partnered with sea farmers to measure kelp’s ability to reduce ocean acidification while providing a nursery habitat for many marine species.

Join us to learn more from ocean scientists and Maine sea farmers about kelp’s amazing impacts in the economic and environmental health of our coastal communities. Lincoln Theater is located at 2 Theater St. in the heart of downtown Damariscotta. “Talking Aquaculture in Maine” is a free event. Seats may be reserved through Lincoln Theater’s online box office, but no reservation is required to attend.

More information is available on the theater’s website at LincolnTheater.net, or by contacting the theater office by phone at 563-3424 or by email at info@LincolnTheater.net.