Coastal & Marine Conservation

Morgan Bay has not had any working waterfront operations for several decades, Kallin said. In that time, it has developed as a prime vacation rental spot and some residents are worried about a loss of income if the lease is granted. Kallin doesn't believe one aquaculture business venture should outweigh the recreational uses of Morgan Bay. "You're giving a single individual an exclusive lease over a particular area of a common resource," he said.

Anyone driving over the causeway on Friday, May 3, near low tide likely would have seen more than a dozen high school students all over the clam flats, participating in a research experiment. The hands-on science work is a precursor to the Marine Studies Pathway that will launch at the high school next year and will teach a wide ranging curricula based on marine studies.

The Freeport Town Council will fund a study of the town’s depleting shellfish stocks – a historic first in Maine marine research and a potential life preserver for the struggling clamming community. ... The town is believed to be the only Maine municipality to be spearheading such an effort, and the project has been hailed by Brian Beal, a biologist and professor at the University of Maine at Machias, who specializes in shellfish research, as groundbreaking. Beal will be a consultant on the project.

Editor's Note: The following profile appeared on The Working Waterfront website, where you can read the original article and see the accompanying photos. Story and photos by Sharon Mack

At the end of a sharp point of land jutting into Western Bay, the Down East Institute for Applied Marine Research is a small campus of outbuildings, docks and a wharf centered around a large, nondescript metal warehouse. Inside, the air is humid and laced with the briny smell of shellfish and salt water.

“Primum non nocere”, or “first, do no harm”, is one of the central ethical principles taught to medical students, and one that scientists and policy makers alike should embrace. In this context, to do no harm, we argue that a systems-wide, holistic approach to N and P control is essential. When develop- ing nutrient criteria for a given river or estuary, it is imperative for policy makers to remember that actions in one watershed will affect a neighboring or downstream ecosystem.

Ship strikes Social communication is necessary so that they can get together for important activities, such as mating, and it is unclear just what the ramifications of cutting off that communication will mean for them. But the ships are not just disrupting communication; they also collide with whales from time to time. Dr Dave Wiley who works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has seen the consequences at first hand.