Life Sciences Commons^™

What Gives Me Hope, Heather M. Leslie

Maine Policy Review

The commentary focuses on the author's experiences over the last several years in Maine where she has conducted research, mentored students, and collaboratde with diverse community partners on a number of projects focused on shellfish fisheries co-management and other community-led resilience projects in coastal Maine.

Maine’S Potential To Be A Global Leader In Sustainable Seaweed Harvesting And Management, Hannah M. Webber, Stefan Claesson, Shep Erhart, Catherine V. Schmitt, Jessica F. Muhlin

Maine Policy Review

A multitude of macroalgae (i.e., seaweed) species that are harvested in Maine are economically and ecologically important. Currently, management of these resources in Maine is focused on rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum). This seaweed grows in abundance along intertidal rocky shores and provides a number of benefits including serving as habitat and nursery for many species including fin-fish, coastal protection from storms and sea level rise, carbon sequestration, and is a harvestable natural resource used primarily in fertilizer and animal feed production. It is critical that these functions and benefits are maintained and harvesting activities managed to ensure a sustainable …

Comanagement In Maine: Integrating Fishermen’S Ecological Knowledge Into Government Oversight Of Fisheries, Anne Hayden

Maine Policy Review

Comanagement is the sharing of responsibility for management between fishermen and fisheries agencies. It shifts fishermen’s incentives to include longer term conservation goals, generates fine-scale information for management that would not otherwise be available, and develops fishing strategies that are consistent with conservation. Analysis of comanaged fisheries in Maine, for lobster, clams, river herring, and scallops, indicates that comanagement improves fisheries productivity and is more effective than standard, top-down, broad-scale fisheries management.

Why Is The Depletion Of Our Important Fish Stocks So Persistent?, James A. Wilson

Maine Policy Review

In the 1980s and 1990s, two events changed the fundamental structure of Maine's coastal ecology: inshore herring and then nearshore groundfish stocks were overfished and disappeared. Surprisingly, even without fishing, there has been no recovery. Standard fisheries management assumes that the recovery of any locally overfished place should be quick – fish from other places will 'fill in.'

In contrast, recent scientific work on social learning among animals suggests that fish have communication and learning abilities comparable to other vertebrates. Learning allows groups of fish to adapt to much more local places than possible if adaptation depended on genetics alone. …

New Office Supports Maine Climate Action, Parker Gassett, Ivan Fernandez

Maine Policy Review

Expanding and expediting access to climate change information can improve collective action outcomes. Accordingly, the Maine Climate Action Plan called for the creation of an information-coordinating hub, to enable effective and efficient use of climate information in Maine’s climate change response. To aid that need, the University of Maine created the Maine Climate Science Information Exchange (MCSIE) office as a gateway to information about climate-relevant research, the scientists conducting that research, and the most recent data and applied science efforts relating to Maine’s climate change strategies. The office was established in 2023, after a year of developing prototypes of the …

Community Science In Support Of Ecosystem-Based Management: A Case Study From The Damariscotta River Estuary, Maine, Usa, Sarah C. Risley, Kara E. Pellowe, Melissa L. Britsch, Meredith M. White, Heather M. Leslie

Maine Policy Review

Coastal marine ecosystems are dynamic social-ecological systems (SESs) that support diverse ecosystem services and human activities. The complexity of SESs means that ecosystem-based approaches are increasingly used to support coastal marine ecosystem stewardship. We report how a community science program in Maine, USA offers a model of organizational innovation to expand capacities for shellfish research and management. Since 2019, we have collaborated with local students, shellfish harvesters, and others in data collection, interpretation, and application, contributing to local shellfish management and ecosystem sustainability. We demonstrate how community-based social and ecological research can build adaptive capacities by centering local knowledge; generating …