Seascale
Fishermen have told us they’re grateful that we’re offering a solution-oriented, respectful approach to diversification instead of the doom and gloom that defines so many news stories about the lobstering industry.
–Charlie Walsh, Co-founder & CTO, Seascale
For generations, Maine’s lobster fishermen have been the backbone of the state’s coastal economy. Yet as the industry faces mounting pressures, aquaculture has long been promoted as a diversification option,one that until now, has failed to align with the realities of commercial fishing operations.
Enter Seascale, founded by Charlie Walsh and Jon Steuber in September 2024. Their flagship innovation, the Maine Scallop Pot™, represents a fundamental shift in how aquaculture can integrate with traditional fisheries, offering a solution that strengthens rather than replaces Maine’s fishing identity.
A Gear-Based Solution Built for Fishermen
Traditional aquaculture models require high capital investment, large-scale operations, and year-round management: demands that clash with the seasonal, gear-based nature of lobster fishing. Most lobstermen are already heavily capitalized with vessels and equipment, working full-time on the water with established routines and territories.
“For aquaculture to be a viable diversification strategy, it must be profitable at a small scale and designed not to interfere with existing fishing practices,” explained Walsh, who brings both technical expertise and lived experience in Maine’s fisheries to the venture.
The Maine Scallop Pot mirrors the form and function of traditional lobster gear but is purpose-built for cultivating high-value shellfish including scallops, oysters, clams, and urchins. This design enables fishermen to diversify their income streams without disrupting their core operations, creating a low-labor, deep-water cultivation option that works within the operational realities of Maine’s lobstering fleet.
From Concept to Commercial Reality with MTI Support
Like many early-stage founders, Walsh and co-founder Jon Steuber faced the classic startup challenges: securing funding, accessing professional resources, and finding space to test their innovations within Maine’s complex aquaculture regulatory environment.
MTI’s Business Innovation Funding provided the critical capital needed to transform their concept into a market-ready product. “MTI’s funding allowed us to turn an idea into a company,” Steuber noted. The support enabled them to purchase scallops for field trials, rent space at the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, retool their shop for assembly, and work with design team Brainstorm to build a professional brand presence.
Most importantly, the funding allowed Seascale to design and order Maine Scallop Pot kits from Brooks Trap Mill, transitioning from small-batch prototypes to production-ready gear. This approach dramatically reduced in-house labor by limiting their role to final assembly, enabling the team to focus on testing, refinement, and customer support.
Through MTI’s MERC program, Seascale secured additional matching funds specifically for intellectual property protection. Working with Veridian Law, they obtained a provisional patent and trademark for the Maine Scallop Pot, establishing crucial legal foundations before their public debut at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum.
Community-Rooted Innovation
What sets Seascale apart is their deep connection to Maine’s fishing communities. Steuber works as a lobstering sternman, while Walsh collaborates with local boat builders. Their company literally grew “from kitchen tables, an unheated barn, and countless meetings taken from truck cabs on the wharf and the back of boats.”
This community-rooted approach has resonated strongly with their target market. Following a front-page feature in the Midcoast Villager, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “Fishermen have told us they’re grateful that we’re offering a solution-oriented, respectful approach to diversification,” Walsh shared.
The team has successfully manufactured 100 Maine Scallop Pots, pre-sold 20 units to local fishermen and researchers, and allocated 50% of their initial production to pilot projects for further validation. Their public debut at Maine’s Fishermen’s Forum,the state’s largest conference for commercial fishermen and aquaculturists, engaged hundreds of attendees in customer validation.
MTI
Business Innovation Funding
MERC
Support
100
Maine Scallop Pots manufactured
20
units pre-sold to fishermen & researchers
1
provisional patent & trademark secured
Scaling Solutions Across Maritime Communities
Looking ahead, Seascale envisions the Maine Scallop Pot becoming a widely adopted tool across Maine’s fishing fleet. But their vision extends far beyond state borders. The design is adaptable to any commercial fishing operation with hydraulic haulers, from maritime Canada’s lobster and snow crab fleets to the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab fishermen and the large crab fishing operations of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
“By using an intellectual property and licensing model, Seascale can adapt its design to mimic the predominant gear used by these other fisheries and license the designs to local manufacturers within those regions,” Walsh explained.
Maine’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem as Competitive Advantage
Seascale’s success reflects the strength of Maine’s interconnected innovation community. The company has worked with an extensive network including the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Dirigo Labs, the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, UMaine’s Darling Marine Center, Maine Sea Grant, the Island Institute, Coastal Enterprises Inc., and the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
“An emphasis on collaboration and inter-connectivity really defines the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in Maine,” Steubersaid. “Among all the other startups and support organizations, there’s always a willingness to share contacts, business development resources, and potential funding opportunities.”
This collaborative spirit, combined with Maine’s working waterfront, deep fishing traditions, and strong community networks, provides an ideal environment for developing innovations that stay grounded in real-world industry needs.
A Vision for Resilient Coastal Communities
At its core, Seascale represents something larger than innovative gear design. The company embodies a philosophy that Maine’s coastal communities will achieve resilience through their existing strengths, particularly the lobster fishing fleet, which represents the state’s largest competitive advantage in scaling seafood production.
“We design solutions for our existing infrastructure and skillsets, not just on the back of the boat but throughout our community,” Steuber explained. This includes supporting the broader coastal economy: boatyards, marine supply stores, restaurants, rope factories, and trap manufacturers that depend on commercial fishing.
As Seascale continues to grow, their story serves as a powerful example of how innovation can honor tradition while building pathways to the future. By creating tools that fit the realities of life on the water, they’re strengthening the foundation of Maine’s working waterfront for generations to come.
“We love living and working in Maine’s fishing communities, building tools that help preserve that way of life, and offering a hopeful, realistic vision for the future of the working waterfront,” Walsh added.
With MTI’s continued support and Maine’s robust entrepreneurial ecosystem behind them, Seascale is well-positioned to transform how aquaculture integrates with traditional fisheries, one Maine Scallop Pot at a time.
