Maine Sea Grant

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 […]

Pat White Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation PO Box 523 Kennebunk, ME 04043 207-985-8088 The commercial lobster fishery, the economic engine for so many coastal communities in the Gulf of Maine, is undergoing extreme changes. In 2008, an apparent drop in landings, lower prices paid to lobstermen for their product, and rising fuel and bait […]

Scott Hall Research Coordinator Audubon Seabird Restoration Program Belfast, ME 04915 Most information about Atlantic puffins is derived from studies of their breeding colonies on Maine's outer coastal islands. Where they go during the winter, when they are thought to roam the ocean from the Gulf of Maine to Greenland and Iceland, however, is still […]

Gary Edwards Down East Resource Conservation & Development Council 87 Milbridge Road PO Box 210 Cherryfield, ME 04622 207.546.2368 gary.edwards@me.usda.gov The extensive mudflats and coves along the eastern Maine coast provide habitat for clams, scallops, mussels, and oysters, which in turn sustain the economies of coastal communities. However, recent habitat loss and harvest decline has […]

Stephen Miller Islesboro Islands Trust P.O. Box 182 Islesboro, ME 04848 Phone: 734-6907 iitsmill@midcoast.com The Town of Searsport is currently updating its comprehensive plan and writing new land use ordinances. This project will provide the town with a rigorous comparative cost-benefit analysis of three development scenarios for Sears Island : marine ecology, marine history, and recreational. […]