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Full-Text Articles in Aquaculture and Fisheries

Zoned Leasing Impact On Shellfish Aquaculture Industry Development, Rebekah Woodburn Sep 2022

Zoned Leasing Impact On Shellfish Aquaculture Industry Development, Rebekah Woodburn

All Theses And Dissertations

Shellfish aquaculture is a growing industry in the United States that supports many individuals and communities. An important step in establishing or growing a shellfish aquaculture operation is obtaining a lease in which to cultivate shellfish. While many states allow aquaculturists to find their own lease location, the often time-intensive and expensive process to have the lease approved and permitted can be a great barrier for new entrants to the industry. Zoned leasing is a way for state agencies to establish large areas and pre-approve them for shellfish aquaculture, then divide the areas into smaller parcels of leases to be …


Blue Resilience: Is There A Need For An Alaskan Coastal Career Development Framework?, Jared Fuller Jun 2022

Blue Resilience: Is There A Need For An Alaskan Coastal Career Development Framework?, Jared Fuller

All Theses And Dissertations

Youth career outmigration has increased in Alaska’s coastal communities in the last few decades. The ocean and ocean-adjacent industries that comprise the blue economy make up the majority of the employment options in places have experienced declines within these regions which has been attributed to the outward movement of young people. The dynamic history of Alaska has had specific impacts with regards to Alaskan coastal communities, their ocean-resource economies, and thus, the potential for young people to find career paths within them. Potential economic-resource vulnerabilities could be mapped along with the complex systems to help build resilience within those communities. …


Climate-Driven Stock Shifts And Expansions In The U.S. Northeast Shelf: Identifying Challenges, Opportunities, And Barriers Through Fishermen And Manager Perspectives, Sophie A. Swetz May 2022

Climate-Driven Stock Shifts And Expansions In The U.S. Northeast Shelf: Identifying Challenges, Opportunities, And Barriers Through Fishermen And Manager Perspectives, Sophie A. Swetz

All Theses And Dissertations

Climate-driven warming in the U.S. Northeast Shelf (NES) has led to changes in the spatial distributions of many marine resources. Shifts and expansions of commercially important fish stocks pose major challenges to fishermen and fisheries managers in this region. American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) is one of these impacted stocks and is projected to continue its shift towards more northern and offshore areas. Continued ocean warming could potentially reduce the GOM lobster stock by up to 60% over the next several decades. Given Maine’s reliance on its lobster fishery—which contributes over 80% of …


Possible Surf And Turf Mutualism: The Potential Of Yeast Grown From Maine Wood As Feed For Atlantic Salmon, Gina Scott May 2022

Possible Surf And Turf Mutualism: The Potential Of Yeast Grown From Maine Wood As Feed For Atlantic Salmon, Gina Scott

All Theses And Dissertations

With fed aquaculture expanding, challenges are being faced with increasing demands for protein for feed. Fishmeal as a protein is at high cost and low supply, and meals from terrestrial agriculture can impact fish health; both also generate environmental challenges. One potential alternative protein is yeast, which can be grown using waste softwood. Simultaneously, Maine forestry has lost buyers of waste wood with several paper mill closures. If yeast is produced as an alternative protein for fish feed using this wood, both Maine Atlantic salmon farming, Maine’s most valuable form of aquaculture, and Maine forestry could benefit. Environmental impact and …


Green Economics: Assessing The Feasibility Of A New England Green Crab (Carcinus Maenas) Fishery Through Fishermen Perspectives, William L. Walter Sep 2021

Green Economics: Assessing The Feasibility Of A New England Green Crab (Carcinus Maenas) Fishery Through Fishermen Perspectives, William L. Walter

All Theses And Dissertations

The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is a well-adapted invasive species that has flourished throughout coastal New England. Its arrival has caused numerous negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts, including the decline of the Maine soft shell clam (Mya arenaria) fishery. Increases in north Atlantic sea surface temperatures have simultaneously propelled the proliferation of C. maenas and caused northward shifts in the geographic ranges of commercially relevant species, including the American lobster (Homarus americanus). C. maenas represents an underutilized species that H. americanus and M. arenaria fishers can target to supplement any lost income if …


The Waste Management Of Large-Scale Recirculating Aquaculture Systems And Potential Value-Added Products From The Waste Stream, Franco R. Pilone Aug 2021

The Waste Management Of Large-Scale Recirculating Aquaculture Systems And Potential Value-Added Products From The Waste Stream, Franco R. Pilone

All Theses And Dissertations

Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) is an emerging technology that is capturing the attention of many in aquaculture due to its ability to produce high-quality seafood using sustainable models. This study explored the waste management of RAS, specifically further treatment technologies, and the potential value-added products from the RAS waste stream that can be reused. Advanced, tertiary, or down-stream treatment technologies available for RAS were investigated through a literature review. Utilizing the constant comparative method and semistructured interviews with stakeholders in RAS, opinions and attitudes were collected about advanced treatment of RAS waste and reuse opportunities presented from value-added products generated …


Adding Value Through Sustainability: Incentivizing An Ecosystem Approach To Oyster Aquaculture In Maine, Samuel Feldman Jul 2021

Adding Value Through Sustainability: Incentivizing An Ecosystem Approach To Oyster Aquaculture In Maine, Samuel Feldman

All Theses And Dissertations

This study identified oyster farming practices that have the potential to increase the sustainability of Maine’s oyster industry while increasing its value. Practices aligned with the principles of the ecosystem approach to aquaculture were gleaned from semi-structured interviews and surveys of oyster farmers and their buyers. Themes from interview transcripts were developed using thematic analysis. Survey data was used to triangulate interview transcript data. As a result, sustainable oyster farming practices were identified that had direct and indirect connections to the value of Maine’s oysters. Practices with direct connections to increased oyster value included conducting and advertising actions of increased …


Investigating Larval Spillover From Oyster Aquaculture Through Geospatial Habitat Suitability Index Modeling: A Damariscotta River Estuary Case Study, Daniel F. Delago Jul 2021

Investigating Larval Spillover From Oyster Aquaculture Through Geospatial Habitat Suitability Index Modeling: A Damariscotta River Estuary Case Study, Daniel F. Delago

All Theses And Dissertations

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) supports the ecological function of estuarine ecosystems by creating biogenic reef habitat (Purchon, 2013), and positively influencing coastal biogeochemistry in intertidal, and subtidal environments (Humphries et al., 2016; Ray and Fulweiler, 2020). As anthropogenic impacts continue to influence the health of marine environments globally (Halpern et al., 2008), oyster reef restoration is gaining increased attention as a means of maintaining the function of estuarine systems (Beck et al, 2011). Shellfish aquaculture has gained increased attention, contributing 21% of all aquaculture production globally (FAO 2020). Shellfish aquaculture provides a suite of social-ecological benefits while …


Adopting Principles Of Food Justice For Equitable Oyster Aquaculture Industry Development, Cristina Sandolo Jul 2021

Adopting Principles Of Food Justice For Equitable Oyster Aquaculture Industry Development, Cristina Sandolo

All Theses And Dissertations

The mid-Atlantic region is experiencing a resurgence of oyster production, through both wild harvest and, more recently, aquaculture. While a historic, wild catch oyster fishery drove economic development of the region, the modern-day oyster industry is less intensive, more heavily managed, and is growing due to a growing aquaculture industry. While many Black watermen played critical roles in developing the historic wild-caught industry, barriers to advancement within the industry and to wealth accumulation in general prevented many from experiencing the full array of compensation, benefits, and legacy that the booming industry could have provided. Now, the modern-day oyster aquaculture industries …


Cultivating Cooperatives: Benefits And Challenges Of Co-Ops And Recommendations For Maine’S Emerging Aquaculture Industries, Phoebe Walsh Jul 2020

Cultivating Cooperatives: Benefits And Challenges Of Co-Ops And Recommendations For Maine’S Emerging Aquaculture Industries, Phoebe Walsh

All Theses And Dissertations

Two emerging Maine industries, kelp (Saccharina latissimi and Saccharina angustissima) and Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) aquaculture, have enormous market, environmental, and social potential but are faced with challenges of small scale and limited operations, inadequate infrastructure, market visibility, and limited expertise. Because many industries, particularly the dairy industry, have benefited from the use of cooperatives (co-ops) to aggregate an extremely perishable product, quickly process and effectively market and distribute, this research explores the cooperative model as a potential tool for the nascent scallop and kelp industries. Aquaculture co-ops are new in Maine. The first, the …


Grey (Halichoerus Grypus) And Harbor Seal (Phoca Vitulina) Bycatch And Depredation In New England Sink-Gillnet Fisheries, Laura N. Sirak Jul 2015

Grey (Halichoerus Grypus) And Harbor Seal (Phoca Vitulina) Bycatch And Depredation In New England Sink-Gillnet Fisheries, Laura N. Sirak

All Theses And Dissertations

Marine mammals interact with commercial fisheries via competition for resources, depredation (feeding on fish caught in gear), entanglement, and bycatch in fishing gear. In New England, gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are often taken as bycatch in sink-gillnet fisheries and are believed to depredate fish in gillnets. As seal populations increase, interactions with fisheries are also likely to increase, affecting both seal stocks and the New England fishing industry. This study aims to understand seal bycatch in the New England sink-gillnet fisheries by identifying the spatial and temporal trends in bycatch as …


Ion Regulatory Capabilities Of The European Green Crab, Carcinus Maenas, Exposed To Low Salinity Environments: An Investigation Into The Physiological Differences Between Two Color Morphs Across Sex, Anthony Himes May 2015

Ion Regulatory Capabilities Of The European Green Crab, Carcinus Maenas, Exposed To Low Salinity Environments: An Investigation Into The Physiological Differences Between Two Color Morphs Across Sex, Anthony Himes

All Theses And Dissertations

The European green crab, Carcinus maenas, is a highly invasive species found throughout the world with severe economic and ecological impacts on the regions it invades. This species occurs in two color morphs: green after molting and red after prolonged intermolt. Physiological variations between these two morphs are well documented across various environmental conditions, but little work has focused on female C. maenas. To assess if the variation between color morphs observed in males persists in females, red and green morphs of each sex were exposed to a constant low salinity environment. Constant low salinity exposure was chosen as it …


Species Identification And Phylogeny Of Phycinae Hakes And Related Gadoid Fishes, Laura Ann Whitefleet-Smith Nov 2014

Species Identification And Phylogeny Of Phycinae Hakes And Related Gadoid Fishes, Laura Ann Whitefleet-Smith

All Theses And Dissertations

The term hake refers to a number of species belonging to multiple families of fish in the suborder Gadoidei and includes two main groups: Phycinae hakes (family Gadidae) and Merluccius spp. hakes (family Merlucciidae). The use of the common name hake for this diverse group of fish prompts questions such as: how are these species related and how can they be differentiated? Chapter one details the development of the Rapid Gadoid Identification Assay (RaGIA) for molecular identification of 11 gadoid fishes (including six hakes) using Polymerase Chain Reaction Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RaGIA was used for species identification of …


Application Of A Bioenergetics Framework For Assessing Sub-Lethal Effects Of Pollutants In The Freshwater Mussel Elliptio Complanata, Christopher G. Goodchild Aug 2014

Application Of A Bioenergetics Framework For Assessing Sub-Lethal Effects Of Pollutants In The Freshwater Mussel Elliptio Complanata, Christopher G. Goodchild

All Theses And Dissertations

Although biomarkers are frequently used to assess sublethal effects of contaminants, a lack of mechanistic linkages to higher-level effects limits the predictive power of biomarkers. Bioenergetics has been proposed as a framework for linking cellular effects to whole-animal effects. We investigated sublethal effects of exposure to wastewater treatment facility effluent in freshwater mussels in situ, thereby capturing ecologically relevant exposure conditions. Our study focused on the energetic biomarker AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), while also considering more traditional biomarkers like heat shock proteins (HSP70), and antioxidant enzymes (i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST)). We examined biomarkers at mRNA and protein levels. …


Assessing The Habitat Use, Diet, And Sex Ratios Of Atlantic (Acipenser Oxyrinchus) And Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser Brevirostrum) In The Saco River, Me, Caitlyn Little Jan 2013

Assessing The Habitat Use, Diet, And Sex Ratios Of Atlantic (Acipenser Oxyrinchus) And Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser Brevirostrum) In The Saco River, Me, Caitlyn Little

All Theses And Dissertations

Due to the questionable status of sturgeon populations along the east coast of the United States, there has been considerable research focus on these species in recent years. Previous studies have overlooked the Saco River as an important habitat for sturgeon in the Gulf of Maine. However, the incidental capture of a sturgeon in the Saco River in the fall of 2007 raised questions about the presence of this species and the role that the Saco River might play in the life cycle of these fish. The goals of this thesis were to evaluate the utilization of this habitat by …


Invertebrate Zooid Polymorphism: Hydractinia Polyclina And Pagurus Longicarpus Interactions Mediated Through Spiralzooids, Charlotte M. Regula-Whitefield Jul 2011

Invertebrate Zooid Polymorphism: Hydractinia Polyclina And Pagurus Longicarpus Interactions Mediated Through Spiralzooids, Charlotte M. Regula-Whitefield

All Theses And Dissertations

Evaluating the net interaction between symbionts can be challenging when one participant is a colonial animal with polymorphic zooids, because each zooid type has unique functions. The colonial hydroid Hydractinia polyclina has three distinct zooid types, each of which contributes particular components to the interaction with host hermit crabs. Of these three zooid types, the function of spiralzooids is not well understood. Previously, spiralzooids have been proposed to contribute a strong negative interaction component by directly reducing their host hermit crab’s reproductive output. However, this hypothesis is not supported by past or current data. I propose that spiralzooids instead function …