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Local Fishermen and UNE Marine Biologist Study Scallop Bed Reseeding in Saco Bay
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The Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA), working with a University of New England marine biology professor, has received a $25,000 grant to study and reseed abandoned Saco Bay scallop beds.
The grant, from the Northeast Consortium, provides funds to continue an ongoing reseeding project and to study optimum scallop reseeding procedures.
Carla Morin, NAMA’s assistant director, is coordinating the project, working closely with UNE marine biology professor Stephan Zeeman, Ph.D. and some of his students.
"This is really the best part of collaborative research," Morin said. "We have put together a group of local fishermen and scientists in order to benefit the local community. Having a world-class marine biology lab in our backyard makes all the difference in the world, and local partnerships benefiting local fishing communities is really what NAMA is all about."
Project Goals
Along with declines in other types of fishing, inshore sea scallop landings have also experienced a decrease since 1993. The seeding of existing beds has been a successful method for improving catches in other shellfish areas around the world. But fishermen and scientists do not have enough knowledge concerning what can be done - either environmentally or legislatively - to allow scallop stocks to rebuild to a sustainable level to support a valuable industry.
The long-term goal of the NAMA-UNE project is to improve the fisheries in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Maine and provide further evidence of viability of reseeding as a stock enhancement procedure for scallops.
Student Involvement
"The UNE connection to the project has benefits to the community as well as to faculty and students," Zeeman explains. "The community realizes benefits by possibly rejuvenating a fishery. That translates into jobs and more money in the local economy. Through their involvement, UNE students gain an understanding of the scientific process, but more importantly, how science can benefit society – how we can learn from those whose livelihood depends on an active waterfront."
UNE students will be involved in the project by going out on boats with area fisherman and other members of the Saco Bay Alliance to collect water quality data. In the lab, the students will conduct experiments on growth rates and conditions that affect those rates.
The current project builds upon previous work by NAMA, Zeeman and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. With the grant, the group this summer will be able to release juvenile scallops, collected and grown during the past year, into selected test areas of Saco Bay.
Both researchers and fishermen believe the long-term monitoring of selected scallop beds will determine critical factors for scallop survival and determine if reseeding can improve scallop production necessary to maintain a sustainable resource for coastal communities.
They believe this strategy, with appropriate management, will produce a long-term, viable and sustainable fishery that can be used in other coastal communities.
(Press release issued July 9, 2002) |
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