COURTESY OF MAINE AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or an oyster bed), you likely saw that the Maine Oyster Trail was recently featured in the New York Times, reaching over 100,000 readers in a single week. Created in partnership with Maine Sea Grant, the Oyster Trail is an interactive oyster tourism guide to Maine’s oyster businesses and experiences. While that story captured the beauty of enjoying oysters along our coast, it missed what’s truly transformative about the Trail: its role in strengthening Maine’s seafood economy, bolstering small businesses, and keeping our working waterfronts alive.
Since its launch in 2021, the Maine Oyster Trail has attracted over 5,800 users who’ve logged over 9,000 check-ins at oyster businesses.
“The Maine Oyster Trail has brought more visibility to small farms like ours, and given visitors a meaningful way to connect with the people and place behind the oysters,” reports Kelly Punch, Catering Event Manager at Mere Point Oyster Company. “Beyond boosting sales, it’s deepened our community connections and opened doors we never expected.”
In an effort to adapt to the challenges of the pandemic, many oyster farmers began selling oysters directly to consumers, offering farm tours, shucking lessons, and other oyster experiences to help diversify their businesses. The Maine Oyster Trail was born from this spirit of resilience, and it has grown into a national model for how aquaculture and tourism can work together.
“It’s been a crucial revenue generator during a pivotal period of the year for us,” says Cameron Barner of Love Point Oysters. “Operating oyster farm tours has been an excellent way for our small business to foster lifelong oyster enthusiasts and share our farm with the public.”
The real power of the trail lies in how it turns curiosity into connection—and revenue—not just for oyster farmers, but also for the many seafood wholesalers, boatbuilders, equipment suppliers, restaurants, and tourism operations who rely on a thriving waterfront economy. Maine’s identity is built around our working waterfronts and coastal communities, which attract millions of people to our state every year. The Trail provides an opportunity for all those visitors to engage with the realities of those working waterfronts beyond the postcard, and come face to face with the hard work it takes to put seafood on our tables and the people we have to thank for it.
This kind of connection can only exist if working waterfronts do. The Maine Oyster Trail would not be possible without the infrastructure that supports our coastal economy. Behind every oyster slurped is a network of other businesses, wharves, and working people. Supporting this infrastructure is critical—not just for tourism, but for preserving Maine’s coastal identity and economy.
We’re thrilled the Oyster Trail is turning heads, and with that we also hope it engenders a greater respect for the essential working waterfronts that support it. Maine’s future depends on our seafood economy, which is about more than what’s on your plate: it’s about the people who make it possible. Visit maineoystertrail.com to check out the trail!
