UNE’s Biddeford Campus and marine research featured on ‘WCVB’s Chronicle’
A crew from Boston television station WCVB recently traveled north to tape a segment on the changing face of Biddeford for the magazine program “Chronicle.”
While in the area they stopped by the Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center to speak with Markus Frederich, Ph.D., professor in the School of Marine Programs, about the exploding green crab population in the coastal Northeast.
“They are multiplying in numbers that are unprecedented,” Frederich told WCVB.
Green crabs are heartier and more difficult to kill than Maine’s native species. They feed on shellfish, such as blue mussels and soft-shell clams, threatening one of the state’s major wild fisheries.
Frederich showed reporter Ted Reinstein how he places the crabs on a small treadmill. It is used as a stress test to help determine how long they can run and how resilient they are.
Frederich expects the green crab problem will get worse in the coming years because of a more aggressive breed from Canada now showing up in waters off the coast of Maine.
“The really bad news is, if we think it’s bad now with the green crabs, it will become a lot worse,” he commented to WCVB.
To close out the segment, Reinstein paid a compliment to UNE’s Biddeford Campus stating, “The University of New England Campus is a good reminder that only minutes from downtown Biddeford lies stunning views along the water.”
