Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Shellfish Closure Trends Near Mt. Desert Island, Maine, Marianne Ferguson
Shellfish Closure Trends Near Mt. Desert Island, Maine, Marianne Ferguson
CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium
Shellfish are a popular commercial fishery harvest in Maine. However, they are susceptible to biotoxins transmitted by toxic phytoplankton, which can lead to paralytic or amnesic shellfish poisoning of the humans that consume them. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has a phytoplankton monitoring program in place to detect such biotoxins and to close areas of shellfish harvesting if need be. Since 2001, they have archived the data from every closure. One of Maines shellfish species, the Blue Mussel, is sensitive to environmental changes and is known as a bio-monitor of pollution. Therefore, a method will be developed to analyze …