Consider the Oyster: The New Lifeblood of Coastal Maine
The Maine lobster is perhaps the best-tasting, highest-quality shellfish catch on the planet. Since the early ‘80s, climate change has spurred a lobster supernova in Penobscot Bay, as unbearable southern heat has shepherded the crustaceans north. Today, midcoast Maine stands as one of the most lucrative seafood hotspots in the world. But soon, that ephemeral moment will come to a close.
“A lot of lobstermen are trying to diversify their job, because as the water warms, the lobsters are moving out,” explains Alicia Gaiero. “So they need another form of income, whether it’s oysters or kelp.” Gaiero is a native of Belfast, Maine, who entered the seafood industry as a college student. Because of climate change, she explains, we’re seeing “the great expansion of small-scale aquaculture.”
Gaiero is the unlikely face of that expansion. At just 26 years old, she is the head of Nauti Sisters Sea Farm, an aquafarm she founded in early 2020 that’s named triply for her siblings (who joined the business), her nautical obsession and the disobedient streak which pulled her out of school and into the water. Aaron Cohen traveled to Maine to see how the social media-savvy Gaiero made a name for herself among the “salty old dogs.”
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