Protecting the Health and Safety of Northern New England's Shellfish & Seaweed Farmers

Commodities

• Animals: shellfish
• Miscellaneous: seaweed

Practices

• Animal Production: aquaculture
• Education and Training: technical assistance, workshop
• Farm Business Management: risk management
• Sustainable Communities: quality of life, other

Project Focus: In conversation, a seasoned oyster farm manager said "The Maine Aquaculture Association should lead Best Management Practices on Aquaculture Safety." Then, in slightly more colorful words, he added "This is important ['stuff']!" This project proposes to do just that - create Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on aquaculture safety for shellfish and seaweed farmers of Maine and New Hampshire. Concurrently, the project will offer safety trainings (15 in total) in maritime first aid, cold water safety/drill conductor training, and SCUBA/diving safety.

The farmers engaged will be Maine and New Hampshire's shellfish and seaweed farmers. Most farmers run small operations - with under 10 years in operation, holding 1-20 leased acres, and paying 1-10 employees all on a revenue typically well under $250k. Many farm owners spend the first several years doing everything themselves, wearing down their bodies and minds through this back-breaking work.

In a separate, recently completed project, eight participants brought up to PL Brayden, unprompted,

In only the past 1-2 months, at least 5-10 additional farmers have also indicated their concerns about farm safety, how it must be improved over time, and their interest in improving aquaculture farm safety on their farms. They all stated, however, that they did not know how, or where, to begin. They all stated that they would like the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) to take the lead and to set the standard on how to improve safety across Maine's aquaculture sector. They all have concerns around worker health and safety, recruiting and retaining high-quality workers, and improving efficiency and risk management on their own farms and sector-wide.

Solution & Approach: Work directly with farmers and experts to create Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that protect the health and safety of ME & NH's aquaculture farmers. Project Leader Brayden will work directly with farmers to understand and document their current practices, review best practices around the world, and consult with farmers and experts on how to improve their practices. Through several rounds of feedback with both farmers and experts, the BMPs and SOPs will be created. Once complete, they would be rolled out through a webinar, an in-person workshop, and one-on-one meetings with farm owners. This process has been tried, tested, and proven successful by the MAA for other similar work.

In addition, many farmers and farm workers have little to no safety training, despite working year-round on the water in sometimes severe conditions. To combat this, we will host 5 total trainings each year of maritime first-aid (2x/year), US Coast Guard drill conductor/cold water safety (1x/year), and SCUBA/diver safety (2x/year). This will total 15 trainings for a total number of 180 participating farmers.

Farmers will change their behaviors, practices, and decision-making around protecting the health and safety of shellfish and seaweed farmers through their understanding and adoption of the BMPs & SOPs.

50 farms will engage with the BMPs and SOPs, effecting change for another 100-350 workers.

68% of participating farmers will report that they feel safer and/or better equipped to manage health and safety, and their associated risks, on their farms. By completion of the project, 65% of farms who previously reported workplace accidents will report a reduction in workplace accidents.