A “Cod Academy,” modeled after the program that kick-started Norway and Japan's aquaculture industries, is now in full force in the US state of Maine.

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We wanted to test the model of using the academy as an economic development tool,” Sebastian Belle, executive director Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA), told IntraFish. “We knew that it had worked in Norway, we knew that it had worked in Japan, so we thought ‘why don’t we try that here?’”

This spring, the program kicked off with a lineup of expert teachers.