Maine Sea Grant: Part of a National Network

Maine Sea Grant is one of 34 NOAA Sea Grant programs throughout the coastal and Great Lakes states. The network is a powerful resource for sharing information and solving problems, and also supports the National Sea Grant Law Center and the National Sea Grant Library. Here are some recent examples of our network-wide efforts and results:

Technology & Information Transfer: A website developed by Maine Sea Grant and partners and funded by the National Sea Grant Law Center, Accessing the Maine Coast, has been adapted for use in six other states: Alabama, Hawai’i, Mississippi, New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida. Since 2007, Maine Sea Grant has provided leadership for the National Working Waterfront Network, including coordination and support for several of the Network’s national conferences on Working Waterfronts and Waterways. Maine Sea Grant has also worked with Coastal Enterprises, Inc., the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the University of Maine, and numerous other research and industry partners in Maine and Japan to advance technology transfer and innovation in Maine’s scallop aquaculture industry. In 2017, decades of work to advance biotoxin testing and related regulations resulted in bringing live, whole scallops to market for the first time, and applied research and industry trials of “ear-hanging” technology and equipment from Japan continue to show promise as a new value-added approach for scallop aquaculture in Maine.

Regional and National Teamwork: Maine’s Marine Extension Team (MET) is part of a larger team of some 571 Sea Grant extension professionals. MET members lead and support numerous regional and national initiatives that advance collaboratives within the National Sea Grant Network as well as with other NOAA offices and state and federal agencies. In these roles, Maine Sea Grant ensures the regional and national relevance of our state-level programming while also keeping Maine’s issues and concerns part of broader conversations. Maine Sea Grant is a partner in NOAA’s Habitat Blueprint effort to advance research, outreach, and community engagement related to habitat restoration in the Penobscot River ecosystem. MET members are currently providing leadership and support for National Sea Grant Network Visioning initiatives related to climate change, community science, aquaculture, tourism, and traditional and local knowledge. Sea Grant/UMaine Extension also provides leadership for the Northeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network, which serves as an interface between research and industry interests related to ocean and coastal acidification, and facilitates the sharing of state-of-the-science information for coastal waters from Long Island Sound to the Scotian Shelf. The Southern Maine Beach Profile Monitoring Program, a collaboration between Sea Grant/UMaine Extension, and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, was replicated by NH, MA, and CA SG, and in the Yucatan Region of Mexico, and now serves as a national model.  

NOAA on Maine’s Coast: Sea Grant is one of several NOAA programs in Maine working on coastal and marine issues. We frequently partner with the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service and the NOAA Weather Service in Maine, as well as supporting long-standing partnerships and collaborative initiatives with the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Maine Coastal Program, at the Maine Department of Marine Resources.