Maine Sea Grant

William Ambrose, Jr. Bates College Lewiston, ME 04240 207.786.6114 Email William Ambrose Commercial harvesting of bloodworms (Glycera dibranchiata) supports about 1,000 licensed diggers and 48 licensed dealers, making it the fifth-largest wild fishery in Maine. The effects of bloodworm harvest on other species in the mudflat, and on the mudflat itself, are not known. In […]

William Ambrose, Jr. Bates College Lewiston , ME 04240 207.786.6114 Email William Ambrose In Maine, many people make their living digging clams and worms from tidal mudflats. Commercial harvesting of blood worms alone is a $7.5 million dollar industry, with 269 metric tons of worms harvested in 2004. The effects of blood worm harvest on […]

Mary E. Davis Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Tufts University 617-627-3394 Email Mary Davis Fishing is a dangerous occupation, and each year in Maine an average of four fishermen die doing their job. In 2010, seven fishing-related deaths occurred just within in Cobscook Bay.  Fishermen are subject to stringent federal and state safety guidelines, […]

Richard A. Wahle Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences McKown Point West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575 207.633.9659 rwahle@bigelow.org As the groundfish and sea urchin fisheries declined over the last decade, fishing communities became precariously dependent on lobsters, the largest fishery in Maine. Realizing that a collapse of this fishery would have far-reaching effects going well beyond […]

Vijay Panchang Maritime Systems Engineering Department Texas A & M University P.O. Box 1675 Galveston, TX 77553-1675 409.740.4504 panchanv@tamug.tamu.edu On Maine’s 3,000 mile coastline, surface waves may comprise the most energetic elements of the physical oceanography affecting coastal communities and habitats. Information about wave conditions has many applications, including the safety of boat or ship […]

Paul Rawson School of Marine Sciences 5751 Murray Hall University of Maine Orono, ME 04469 207.581.4381 prawson@maine.edu The coastal Maine sea scallop fishery is highly valued in fishing communities and supports a diverse group of fishermen, including off-season lobster fishermen and others who harvest multiple species throughout the year. It is distinct from other sea […]

Brian F. Beal University of Maine at Machias 9 O’Brien Avenue Machias, ME 04654 207.255.1314 Cobscook Bay hosts the closest North Atlantic port to Europe and Canada. Approximately 25% of all cargo shipped into Maine goes through the deepwater Port of Easport. Cobscook Bay is also a robust, diverse marine ecosystem. Recently, the Maine Oil […]

Andrew J. Pershing Gulf of Maine Research Institute 350 Commercial St. Portland, ME 04101 607.255.5552 Email Andrew Pershing Portland is the third largest oil terminal port in the United States, a major portion of the oil arriving in New England comes through Maine. To enter these ports, tankers must traverse some of the most lucrative […]