The Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) and Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) are collaborating on an effort to encourage seafood businesses, industry organizations, restaurants, and consumers to utilize the hashtag #EatMaineSeafood across social media platforms.

A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#), used on social media websites and applications to identify messages on a specific topic. It categorizes posts on social media like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. People can follow a hashtag to see all the posts that are sorted under that hashtag. A hashtag helps to elevate a common message, and its success can be measured via user-engagement.

“Repeating a hashtag across all of our social media outlets and asking those that follow or subscribe to also use the hashtag makes people think about eating Maine seafood, which is the first step in getting people to buy seafood,” says Afton Hupper, outreach and development Specialist for MAA. “With more people preparing seafood at home, we have a real opportunity to build excitement around all the delicious, sustainable, healthy seafood that Maine has to offer.”

A recent article reported that as more consumers seek out more seafood during the current pandemic, they are also looking for more education about seafood, especially about the varieties of seafood and recipes. The goal is for the hashtag to make it easier to find recipes and information about Maine seafood, and learn what restaurants in Maine are currently offering Maine seafood.

“Maine has a captive audience right now,” says Monique Coombs, director of marine programs for MCFA, “and we have always been celebrated for our lobster but we have an opportunity to get consumers excited about all of Maine’s seafood, like scallops, halibut, mussels, kelp, pollock, hake, and even bluefin tuna.”

To join the campaign, simply use the hashtag on social media posts that refer to Maine seafood and follow the hashtag across social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.