Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Dataset For: “Shifts In Habitat, Habitat Use, And Demography Of American Lobsters In Coastal Maine Over The Past Quarter Century.”, Robert Jarrett Ii, Damian Brady, Richard Wahle, Robert Steneck

Non-Thesis Student Work

This is the dataset for the manuscript "Shifts in habitat, habitat use, and demography of American lobsters in coastal Maine over the past quarter century." Our study revisited 20 long-term monitored sites at 10 m depth along more than 320 km of the Gulf of Maine. Sampling used quadrat sampling via scuba divers. We recorded fundamental changes in lobster habitat use and distribution. The data include count, size, sex, number of claws, and shelter use of lobster in addition to substrate type, percent cover of kelp and other macroalgae. The data are included in six .csv format files: (1) data …

Landings, Vol. 31, No. 12, Maine Lobstermen’S Community Alliance, Rebecca Nuzzi, Amber-Jean Nickel

Landings: News & Views from Maine's Lobstering Community

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to Maine's lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine's coastal legacy.

For more information, please visit the Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) website.

Optimizing Strategies To Hydraulically Plant Atlantic Salmon Eggs Based On Fry Dispersal Patterns, Ernest J. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Salmon has suffered from habitat loss and exploitation over the last century. Hatchery supplementation has prevented the extirpation of the species, but stocking methods represent tradeoffs between survival, domestication, and logistics. Egg planting, the use of eyed embryos, maximizes natural rearing opportunities which can be important for adaptation. This method, however, is logistically demanding and requires significant labor over large spatial, but short temporal, scales dictated by the ontogeny of the fish. However, the survival and dispersal behavior of Atlantic Salmon fry immediately after emergence from eggs planted in artificial nests …

The Impacts Of Climate Change On The Gulf Of Maine Northern Shrimp (Pandalus Borealis) Distribution, Reproduction, And Life, Hsiao-Yun Chang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Maine northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) once supported a significant winter fishery for the Gulf of Maine (GOM). Although the shrimp fishery is not comparable to the lobster business, it provided fishermen and many coastal communities jobs and incomes in winters after lobster seasons. However, a moratorium has been put on the shrimp fishery since 2014 due to record low population abundance and perceived recruitment failures. The recruitment failures have been correlated with warming water temperatures over the past decade. The GOM has been recognized as experiencing rapid warming as a result of global climate change. …

Maine-Edna: Sustaining Coastal Ecosystems In Maine And Beyond, Maine Epscor

General University of Maine Publications

Maine Environmental DNA (Maine-eDNA) is a statewide, multi-institutional initiative establishing Maine as a natural leader in environmental monitoring, ecological understanding and sustainability of coastal ecosystems through research, education, and outreach.

Movement And Survival Of Atlantic Salmon Smolts In The Penobscot River, Maine, Alejandro Molina Moctezuma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Penobscot River system hosts the largest population of endangered Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in the United States. However, total adult returns in this river remain low. Historically low numbers led to listing of the distinct population segment (DPS) in 2000, and the Penobscot River population was included in the DPS in 2009. Reducing mortality in all life stages is crucial for the recovery of Atlantic salmon populations. One of the life stages associated to high mortality is the juvenile stage (smolts), in which individuals migrate downstream towards the estuary. During this migration smolts face a series of new conditions …

Fish Passage And Hydropower: Investigating Resource Agency Decision-Making During The Ferc Hydropower Relicensing Process, Sarah Vogel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hydropower dams represent a significant challenge for the successful migration of sea-run fish, many species of which are in decline. Most hydropower dams in the United States are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an independent federal agency responsible for granting 30 to 50-year licenses to projects for their continued operation. Licenses typically include conditions for the conservation of sea-run fish such as fish passage construction, operational changes, monitoring of effectiveness, and other mitigative conditions. While FERC remains the primary authority in licensing, the current regulatory framework stipulates input from other federal and state resource and regulatory agencies, …

Assessing Migrations And Habitat Connectivity For Two Anadromous Species Following A Major Restoration Effort In The Penobscot River, Maine, George A. Maynard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The construction of industrial dams across major rivers in New England began in the early 1800s with textile mills in Massachusetts. Because of its legacy of mill dams and log driving dams, New England has the highest density of dams anywhere in North America, averaging one dam for every 44 km² of drainage area. By the early 1900s, these dams drastically limited migrations by diadromous fishes, resulting in declines in populations of migratory fishes, including Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and American shad Alosa sapidissima. Since that time, different fishway designs and river management plans have been tried around …

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Of Atlantic Cod Bycatch In The Maine Lobster Fishery And Its Impacts On Stock Assessment, Robert E. Boenish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Of the most iconic fish species in the world, the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua, hereafter, cod) has been a mainstay in the North Atlantic for centuries. While many global fish stocks have received increased pressure with the advent of new, more efficient fishing technology in the mid-20^th century, exceptional pressure has been placed on this prized gadoid. Bycatch, or the unintended catch of organisms, is one of the biggest global fisheries issues. Directly resulting from the failed recovery of cod in the GoM, attention has been placed as to possible sources of unaccounted catch. Among the most …

Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus) As A Functional Link Between Marine And Freshwater Ecosystems, Daniel M. Weaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anadromous sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus are native to Atlantic coastal systems and serve as a functional link between marine and freshwater ecosystems. Sea lamprey spend 1–2 years in the ocean parasitizing marine vertebrates before migrating into freshwaters during the spring to spawn. There they construct nests, spawn, then die shortly afterwards. Larvae hatch, bury into fine sediments and reside in streams for generally 6–8 years, but up to 14. Larvae then undergo metamorphosis, a non-feeding period characterized by a series of physical and physiological changes. The juveniles (macropthalmia) then migrate to the ocean to begin the parasitic juvenile phase.

Historically, …

Measuring Fertilization In Populations Of Sea Scallop (Placopecten Magellanicus): Developing And Testing Methods In The Laboratory And Field, Skylar Bayer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most marine organisms are broadcast spawners, releasing their sperm and eggs into the water column. Methods of measuring in situ fertilization have proven successful with a few model species, which are reviewed in my introductory chapter. However, many commercially exploited species, such as the sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus, have been neglected. Sea scallop populations have greatly increased from fishing closures, but the mechanism behind this response is uncertain, particularly in regard to fertilization. In this dissertation I developed a methodology of measuring fertilization success and spawning events of P. magellanicus, tested it in laboratory and field settings, and …

Penobscot River Restoration, Catherine Schmitt

Maine Sea Grant Publications

BETWEEN THE HEAD of tide above Bangor to where it widens into the bay at Searsport, the Penobscot River shifts from a flowing freshwater waterway banked by cedar and pine to a brackish, wave-lapped marsh with a rocky shoreline. In this estuary, salt concentrations fluctuate as the winds and tides push sea water and sediments back and forth. The estuary and the river that feeds it have taken on a new character recently, and have become an international example of watershed restoration. Despite two centuries of intensive timber harvesting and pulp and paper manufacturing, and the construction of hundreds of …

Understanding The Impact Of Commercial Harvest On White Suckers (Catostomus Commersonii) In Maine, Megan A. Begley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The State of Maine issues an unlimited number of commercial permits for the harvest of White Suckers Catostomus commersonii in Maine’s inland waters. The fishery provides a necessary source of fresh lobster Homarus americanus bait to coastal communities at a time when other bait sources are scarce. The impacts of the increasing number of permits and subsequent numbers of fishermen on the white sucker population is unknown. The Maine Department on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) has closed a number of waters due to concerns that overfishing and incidental catch of other fish species may occur.

In Chapter 1, we …

Assessment Of A Hatchery Based Rainbow Smelt Supplementation Effort, Andrew O'Malley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) are an important fish distributed throughout northeastern North America with both anadromous and landlocked populations. Abundance, size at age, and maximum size vary widely among populations and life histories. In order to compare anadromous and landlocked populations, we collected spawning adults in 2014 from four anadromous and three landlocked populations. Scales and otoliths from the anadromous fish were examined and compared for estimates of bias and precision in ageing. Analysis of both scales and otoliths provided age estimates that were acceptable, but estimates from scales were more precise and had less bias. Otoliths were …

Connecting Rivers For Healthy Ocean Fisheries, Catherine Schmitt

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Across Maine, communities and land owners are reconnecting rivers and streams by improving road crossings, fixing broken culverts, and removing dams and other barriers. There are many reasons for doing this work, including preventing costly repairs associated with flooding and washouts, enhancing water quality, increasing wildlife habitat, and restoring fish populations. Connecting Rivers explores some of the ways that streams connect inland lakes and forests and the sea. This first fact sheet in the series focuses on connections between populations of migratory river fish (alewives and blueback herring) and groundfish (e.g., cod).

Population Ecology And Epidemiology Of Sea Lice In Canadian Waters, Sonja M. Saksida, Ian Bricknell, Shawn M. C. Robinson, Simon Jones

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Sea lice are found on farmed and wild fish on both the west coast and east coast of Canada. The predominant species on both coasts is referred to as Lepeophtheirus salmonis but indications are that the two groups are genetically different. Caligus species are also found on both coasts, these too are different species: Caligus clemensi and C. elongatus, respectively. There has been extensive work on sea lice on both wild and farmed fish over the last decade. Research indicates that L. salmonis, commonly referred to as the salmon louse; may have a broader host range than commonly …

The American Lobster Settlement Index: An Early Warning System?, Maine Sea Grant College Program

Maine Sea Grant Publications

The harvest of American lobsters is the Gulf of Maine’s largest, most valuable, and most iconic fishery. The catch has never been higher, but how long will it last? Fishing communities in eastern Maine and southern Nova Scotia are seeing historically high landings, some five times higher than the 1980s. At the same time, the lobster fishery south of Cape Cod has all but collapsed, plagued by shell disease and stressfully warm summers. It has never been more important to monitor this vital fishery. The American Lobster Settlement Index measures the annual pulse of baby lobsters to rocky nurseries some …

Rapid: Effect Of A Very Low Nao Event On The Abundance Of The Lipid-Rich Planktonic Copepod, Calanus Finmarchicus, In The Gulf Of Maine, Jeffrey Runge

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Test the hypothesis that a distinctly lower abundance of the planktonic copepod, Calanus finmarchicus in the Gulf of Maine follows the occurrence of very negative winter phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). In 2010, the station-based winter NAO index was -4.64, even more intense than the negative (-3.78) 1996 NAO winter index. If a two-year lagged relationship between very negative NAO winter indices and Calanus abundance in the Gulf of Maine is valid, cooler water from the Labrador Sea should replace Atlantic Temperate Slope Water in the GoM in 2012, inducing a major climatic ecosystem event on the New …

Developing Tools To Evaluate Spawning & Fertilization Dynamics Of The Giant Sea Scallop — Phase Ii: Field Trials In Experimental Populations, Richard A. Wahle, Peter Jumars

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Objective 1 — Sperm advection-diffusion model: Develop a two-dimensional spatial model to predict the concentration o f sperm and effective range of fertilization in a sperm plume at varying distances from a source population of spawning males under scenarios of synchronous and asynchronous spawning.

Objective 2 — Fertilization assays in field populations: Conduct a time series of fertilization assays over experimental populations of scallops to (a) further develop the methodology to assess ambient sperm loads in scallop populations over the course of the spawning season, (b) compare model predictions about spatial patterns of sperm concentration and fertilization generated in Objective …

Understanding Copepod Life-History And Diversity Using A Next-Generation Zooplankton Model, Andrew J. Pershing, Frederic Maps, Nicholas R. Record

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The main goal of our project is to understand the patterns of diversity and biogeography in marine copepods. To achieve this goal, we developed a unique modeling framework to simulate the trade-offs between growth, development, and fecundity in marine copepods.

We developed a new approach to modeling growth and development in metazoans. We applied this approach to marine copepods, and used it to understand relationships between copepod body size and temperature, copepod biodiversity patterns, and copepod biogeography. This project also provided support for experiments to look at how copepod body size impacts the particle size spectrum.

We used our model …

Rcn: Diadromous Species Restoration Research Network (Dsrrn), David Hart, Adria A. Elskus, Peter D. Vaux, Karen A. Wilson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The primary goal of the Diadromous Species Restoration Research Network (DSRRN) was to advance the science of diadromous fish restoration, promote state-of-the-art scientific approaches to multiple-species restoration on a watershed scale, and facilitate interactions among scientists, managers, and stakeholders throughout the North Atlantic region.

This goal was achieved by a series of conferences and workshops over a five-year period between 2008 and 2013. In all, DSRRN organized two multi-day conferences with over 160 participants in attendance and five multiday workshops with an average of 25 participants. The objective of these workshops was to produce new directions for restoration science by …

The Lobster Bulletin, Summer 2014, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Summer 2014 issue include:

• In Memorium: Klaus G. Sonnenberg, 1946-2014
• Lobster Institute Adds Two New Board Members
• Changes in Leadership in Fishery Organizations
• Research Report: Green Crab Studied as Possible Lobster Bait
• Research Report: European Lobster Hatchery Aims to Release 60,000 Lobsters

The Lobster Bulletin, Spring 2014, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Spring 2014 issue include:

• Red Lobster Restaurants Under New Ownership
• Maine Department of Marine Resources Gathers Input in Advance of a Possible Lobster Management Plan
• 2014 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town Meeting Held in Portland
• Research Report: Areas of interest and suggested further study concerning the Searsport Harbor Federal Navigation Project
• Research Report: University of Maine …

The Lobster Bulletin, Winter 2014, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Winter 2014 issue include:

• 2013 Lobster Landings in Maine Remain High
• Mouth of the Penobscot River Closed to Lobster Fishing—Though Lobsters Still Safe to Eat
• Pending Canada/E.U. Trade Agreement May Provide Boost to Lobster Exports
• 2013 Friends of the Lobster Institute
• Research Report: DMR's Status of the Lobster Fishery as Reported at the Maine …

The Lobster Bulletin, Fall 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Fall 2013 issue include:

• Marine Lobster Panel Releases Report
• Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Mandated Fall Closure in Long Island Sound
• Research Report: Lobster Research Fleet Pilot Project
• Research Report: Fractions, Models and Resource Regulations Prospects for Lowering the Maine Lobster Trap Limit
• Seabourn Cruis Lines Hosts Lobster College

The Lobster Bulletin, Summer 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Summer 2013 issue include:

• Lobster Intitute & Atlantic Lobster Sutainability Foundation Building a Working Relationship
• Belize Fishermen Visit Maine
• Editorial — More Questions than Answers
• Editor's Notes on Shell Diseased Lobsters
• Research Report: Scientists Share Research Plans and Results at Lobster Science Symposium
• Lobster Grip Study
• Policy Makers Meet and Share Thoughts on Sustainability …

Diet And Prey Availability Of Sturgeons In The Penobscot River, Maine, Matthew Dzaugis

Honors College

Although vital to the protection and conservation of species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, critical habitat of shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon in the Penobscot River, Maine have not yet been described. Critical habitat includes food availability as well as the physical characteristics of foraging habitat. To characterize seasonal availability of benthic prey, a ponar grab was used to collect over 125 benthic samples between 21 May and 8 October 2012. Samples were stratified throughout the river and broadly categorized by sediment type. All organisms within samples were identified to the family level. To characterize diet, stomach contents …

The Lobster Bulletin, Spring 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Spring 2013 issue include:

• "Sharing a Common Resource" Theme of Lobster Institute's 2013 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town Meeting
• Nova Scotia Sets Up Panel to Develop Rules for Fish Farms by End of 2014
• Downeast Maine Fisheries Inspire Online Literary Journal
• Research Report: Wind Farm Sites Tested as Possible Habitat for European Lobsters
• Research Report: Refresher …

The Lobster Bulletin, Winter 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in this edition include:

• Unprecidented Lobster Landings in Maine in 2012
• Endowment Funds Support the Work of the Lobster Institute
• 2012 Friends of the Lobster Institute
• Research Report: Size at Maturity Study Reviewed
• Research Report: Atlantic Lobster Moult & Quality
• Research Report: Temperature Changes
• Fishermen & Scientist Research Society Celebrates 20 Years
• 2013 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town …

The Lobster Bulletin, Fall 2012, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Fall 2012 issue include:

• Group Seeks to Protect Ocean by Promoting Better Lawn Care Practices
• Lobster Institute 25th Anniversary Celebration Continues
• Maine Conforms First-Ever Case of West Nile Virus
• Research Report: Direct Determination of Age in Lobsters
• Research Report: Lobster Cam Back Online Soon
• Lobster Council Taking Giant Step Forward