This story was originally produced by the Portsmouth Herald. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Two marine biologists are preparing to open Blue Heron Aquaculture on Route 1 in Seabrook — which they say will be New England’s first commercial shrimp farm.
Granite State natives Stefan Mraz, 28, and Rebecca Heidt, 27 — his partner and fiancée — grew up loving New Hampshire’s Seacoast. Both earned degrees in marine science, he from Northeastern and she from UNH, and have worked in the field since college.
Mraz spent time with an oyster farming operation out of Great Bay, and later with a Portsmouth company, learning the global aspect of seafood.
Initially, Heidt worked nearby at the Seacoast Science Center in the animal care department. After a couple of years in Rye, she became an aquarist — the person who cares for the marine animals — for the New England Aquarium.
With that experience — and a shared dream of running their own business — the two launched Blue Heron Aquaculture. Their goal is to have large, high‑quality shrimp ready for restaurants, grocery stores, and local seafood lovers at their 920 Lafayette Road facility in Seabrook by fall.
Continue reading this story at Seacoast Online.
