Maine Sea Grant

Sarah Nelson Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental & Watershed Research 5710 Norman Smith Hall Orono, ME 04469 207.581.3454 Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the United States. EPA and FDA seafood consumption advisories suggest that shrimp is a low-mercury food, however this information is based on data that represent only a few […]

Herring Gut Learning Center PO Box 286, 9 Factory Road Port Clyde, ME 04855 207.372.8677 With many stocks of wild seafood in decline, aquaculture provides a sustainable source of local, healthy food. The Herring Gut Learning Center in Port Clyde trained two local science classes in fish and produce production as part of the “egg […]

Rob Snyder Island Institute P.O. Box 648 386 Main Street Rockland, Maine 04841 207.594.9209 www.workingwaterfront.com Recognizing an increased demand for scientific and technical information about current issues facing coastal communities, and a concomitant fragmentation of media outlets, the Island Institute and Maine Sea Grant are collaborating on a new science feature in The Working Waterfront […]

Jay Adams Old Fort Western Fund 16 Cony St. Augusta, ME 04330 207.626.2385 oldfort@oldfortwestern.org The success of the third annual Spring Running festival can be attributed to partnerships. The 2008 event had nearly twice the number of attendees from the previous year. The event continues to mobilize citizens and groups around the Augusta area to […]

Patrice McCarron Maine Lobstermen’s Association 21 Western Ave. #1 Kennebunk, ME 04043 207.967.4555 patrice@mainelobstermen.org The Maine lobster fishery is experiencing serious economic challenges due to a combination of poor lobster prices and escalating operating expenses. The Maine lobster fishery is comprised of 5,500 commercial license holders with landings valued at more than $244 million in […]

John Riley Dept. of Biological and Chemical Engineering University of Maine Orono, ME 04469 207.581.2715 riley@apollo.umenfa.maine.edu Mick Peterson Dept. of Mechanical Engineering University of Maine Orono, ME 04469 207.581.2129 mpeterson@umeme.maine.edu Commercial fisheries, maritime shipping, and whale watching are all economically important to Maine. However, they also can negatively impact whales, which can collide with ships […]

Will Hopkins Cobscook Bay Resource Center 4 Favor St. Eastport, ME 04631 207.853.6607 willhopkins@prexar.com Protecting working waterfront and preserving coastal access is a critical need in Maine’s coastal communities. In this pilot project, researchers will interview harbormasters, town officials, and resource users to document public and private access points around Cobscook Bay, geo-locate the sites […]

Thomas Trott Suffolk University 41 Temple Street Boston, MA 02114-4280 617.573.8246 codfish2@earthlink.net Among the New England coastal states, the least is known about invasive species introductions and distributions in Maine. Information about the status of the Maine coastal environment and the health and diversity of habitats impacted by invasive species is needed for local and […]

William Ambrose Carnegie Science Hall Bates College Lewiston, ME 04240 207. 786.6114 wambrose@abacus.bates.edu In the past decade, fishery scientists, managers, and ecologists have expressed increasing concern about the effects of commercial fisheries on benthic communities. Although the effects of dredges and trawls on sub-tidal, hard and soft bottom communities have been studied, very few studies […]

Hilary Neckles USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 196 Whitten Road Augusta, ME 04330 207-622-8205 ext.119 hneckles@usgs.gov Eelgrass (Zostera marina L) is the dominant seagrass occurring in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, where it often forms extensive meadows in coastal and estuarine areas. Eelgrass beds are extremely productive and provide many valuable ecological functions […]