Flavor With Purpose
We aim to do good and make food tasty. By partnering with Maine’s seafood processors and farmers, we turn the discarded treasures of nature into something delicious. Every batch of garum helps our partners reduce waste, capture more value from their harvests, and cherish the bounty of our ocean. Our process is transparent, our sourcing local, and our goal simple: create flavor that’s good for the plate and for the planet.
By honoring tradition, embracing sustainability, and collaborating with our community, we make a product that’s as much about place and people as it is about taste.
Byproduct to Bottle
Our process begins where others stop—the rejects, trim, bones, and viscera left behind after seafood is processed. We partner directly with Maine buisnesses to collect these ingredients at peak freshness, add salt and fermentation transforms it all into something magic; saving fish from the landfill and turning waste into opportunity.
Once filtered the result is a clear, amber liquid we hand-bottle with care. No additives, no preservatives, no shortcut, just fish and salt. Each bottle is proof that reducing waste doesn’t mean compromising flavor, it means unlocking it.
The Lore
Maine Garum Company began with curiosity, a love of food, and a pile of fish.
Founder Liam Fisher grew up in East Providence, Rhode Island, in a family where food was always central. Though he studied engineering, he was drawn to the kitchen. Working as a line cook, he looked for ways food and engineering might intersect. That search brought him north to Maine, drawn by oysters and opportunity.
Through a strange but successful experiment feeding oysters a seaweed byproduct fermented with kimchi juice, Liam became fixated on upcycling. A vision that we could transform our waste into something marvelous through fermentation. But the real breakthrough came at home when a roommate returned from a day of smelting with the gift of a few dozen fresh fish. These fish, guts and all, became Liam’s first batch of fish sauce.
It clicked. Garum, the ancient Roman sauce, could be more than a culinary curiosity. It could be a tool for modern seafood producers to eliminate waste, capture more value, and revive a forgotten tradition of umami in Western cuisine.
At the time there were no domestic producers of fish sauce. Maine, with its deep seafood culture and supply chains, was the perfect place to start a revival. Working with supplier American Unagi, Liam spent five years modernizing this ancient sauce for the American palate.
In July 2024, Maine Garum Company launched its first product and has been reintroducing people to the magic of this timeless sauce ever since.