In those last five years, oyster farmers saw their per-pound price rise about 25 percent, from $2.09 to $2.62.
“Maine’s brand for seafood is very strong, folks around the country trust products coming out of Maine, we have clean water and a really great seafood product,” said Eric Horne, who is in his 18th year of growing oysters in the Freeport area and distributes as far as Chicago and Texas.
Maine’s oyster production accounted for only about 4 percent of the entire U.S. production, but that percentage could increase dramatically if the state doubled its 600 acres of oyster farms, it said.
Out of the 62 large, long-term aquaculture leases for oysters, about 22 were approved in the past five years, said Diantha Robinson, aquaculture hearings officer for the Department of Marine Resources.
Alongside the larger leases are about 300 smaller growing sites that can be renewed annually.
It can take at least four years to grow the first oyster crop, not including the time it takes to get state permits, so choosing a good location is crucial, said Davis, from the Aquaculture Innovation Center.
Bill Mook, who owns Mook Sea Farm in Walpole, is one of the original Damariscotta River oyster farmers who started in the 1980s.
Mook grows both oysters for market and seed oysters for other farmers.
Even though prices are bound to come down at some point, there is still plenty of room for growth in the industry, he said.
“The big question is the market demand and how that matches up with supply.