Dwayne Shaw Downeast Salmon Federation 207.483.4336 info@mainesalmonrivers.org On the third Friday in April, the Downeast Salmon Federation hosts a community smelt fry to celebrate spring and the annual harvest of rainbow smelt, a native sea-run fish. Friends, family, and visitors gather next to the Wild Salmon Resource Center on the banks of the Pleasant River. […]
Read more
Tyler Carrier University of Maine 802.522.9847 tyler.carrier@maine.edu Tyler Carrier was listening to a podcast about harmful algal blooms on the West Coast, where researchers were finding sea urchins washing ashore. He wondered whether juvenile stages of urchins and other echinoderms might be affected by harmful algae, which have become more frequent and intense in the […]
Read more
Damian Brady University of Maine and DeepCWind Consortium 207.312.8752 damian.brady@maine.edu As energy activities move offshore to the winds and waters of the Gulf of Maine, developers and regulators have to assess the effects of offshore technology on wildlife. Recent evidence indicates that the "marine aerosphere," or environment above the sea surface, is frequented by bats, […]
Read more
Julia Beaty University of Maine 774.994.2542 juliabeaty@maine.edu The Atlantic halibut population in the Gulf of Maine collapsed in the late nineteenth century. As a result, little information is available on the life history, stock structure, and habitat usage of this species in the Gulf of Maine. This information is critical for setting appropriate regulations for the halibut […]
Read more
Linda Mercer Maine Department of Marine Resources The purpose of this one-day conference was to exchange information about non-native green crabs and their impacts on Maine's coastal and marine resources, learn about different approaches for green crab control, and discuss future directions for management and research. Visit the summit page for more information.
Read more
Walter Golet University of Maine 207.228.1695 walter.golet@maine.edu Crustaceans, including lobster and crab, support Maine’s commercial fishing industry and the coastal economy. Monitoring lobster health and behavior is crucial to anticipating future changes in the fishery, and lobsters serve as a kind of indicator of the overall health of the Gulf of Maine. Observing the physical […]
Read more
Carrie Byron Marine Sciences Department University of New England 508.498.4515 cbyron@gmri.org Cobscook Bay hosts a diverse marine ecosystem, many components of which support commercial, recreational, and sustenance fisheries as well as aquaculture and tidal energy generation. With some of the fisheries on the decline, local communities and resource managers could benefit from a clearer picture […]
Read more
Dan Belknap School of Earth and Climate Sciences University of Maine 207.827.7598 belknap@maine.edu The current explosive population growth of the non-native European green crab (Carcinus maenus) is implicated in the widespread destruction of juvenile clams, eelgrass beds, and possible impacts on mussels and lobsters in Maine. Each of these effects has critical consequences for seafood […]
Read more
John Anderson William H. Drury Chair in Ecology and Natural History College of the Atlantic 207.801.5717 Herring gulls and great black-backed gulls, once so ubiquitous they were routinely killed by wildlife officials, lately have experienced catastrophic declines throughout their range. Because both species of gull are found across much of the northern hemisphere, little has […]
Read more
Ian Medeiros College of the Atlantic 774.218.8426 Nishanta Rajakaruna College of the Atlantic Seaweeds harvested and grown off the Maine coast support a strong and expanding seafood industry. Marine macroalgae have many unique characteristics, including the ability to absorb or bioaccumulate heavy metals. Whether or not these metals are available to consumers or have toxic […]
Read more