Message from the Director
As the last of the snow melts (yes, there is still snow on the ground here in Maine!), we are excited to share that the seasons are not the only things changing around these parts. Five of our staff have taken on new leadership positions within Maine Sea Grant. Please congratulate Natalie Springuel as our new Marine Extension Team Lead, Christ Bartlett as our Staff Development and Research Support Lead, Kristen Grant as our Coastal Community Resilience and DEI Leader, Keri Kaczor as our Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development Program Manager, and Dana Morse as our Aquaculture Lead. Feel free to reach out to them, the rest of our team, or me with your thoughts on how we can best support Maine’s coastal communities and ecosystems.
We’d also like to honor and thank Esperanza Stancioff, lead Climate Change Educator with our Marine Extension Team and UMaine Cooperative Extension Professor, for her years of service, collaboration, and leadership. Her steadfast and whole-hearted commitment to Maine’s coastal ecosystems and our coastal communities has been a guiding force for our Maine Sea Grant team for more than three decades. Esperanza has retired, effective April 1, 2022. This change is more bittersweet, as Esperanza is truly irreplaceable. Please join us in wishing her the best of luck in all her future endeavors.
—Gayle Zydlewski
Program Updates
Search for Senior Grants Manager and Fiscal Officer
Maine Sea Grant is seeking a Senior Grants Manager and Fiscal Officer… Read more
Search for Part-time Communications Specialist
Maine Sea Grant is seeking a Communications Specialist for 20 hours a week… Read more
Research
Maine Sea Grant Biennial Research projects announced
Research on forever chemicals, salt marsh carbon sequestration and methane emissions, fisheries decision-making, and access to opportunities in new fisheries receives funding from Maine Sea Grant… Read more
Penobscot River restoration efforts may benefit seals and salmon
Research conducted by Sea Grant Knauss Fellow Lauri Leach and supported by Maine Extension Associate Justin Stevens looks at the relationship between seals and sea-run fish populations… Read more
Investigating the ocean’s past for insights into climate change’s future
Michele LaVigne, a Bowdoin researcher whose paleoceanographic pilot study was funded by a 2018 Maine Sea Grant Biennial Research call, continues her work exploring how past, present, and future ocean conditions affect shellfish species… Read more
Tales from a Technician
Ruby Dener, a marine research technician working with Maine Department of Marine Resources, shares her experiences collecting lobster larvae as part of a project supported by the Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative… Read more
Federal funding opportunity for lobster gear research
National Sea Grant College Program’s American Lobster Research Program is accepting applications for research that addresses development and operationalization of gear technologies; and/or socio-technological or socio-economic research to understand the social, economic, and technological opportunities and/or barriers associated with bringing gear technology to commercial scale in the lobster fishery in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and/or southern New England… Read more
Extension and Community Engagement
Maine students enjoy free local seafood
More than 20 school districts receive local seafood, recipe cards, and educational resources as part of the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program… Read more
Collaborating to provide data to guide local decision-making
Marine Extension Associate Kristen Grant will collaborate on a pilot project to develop and model the social, economic, and technological frameworks necessary to guide local-level decision-making in the pandemic’s aftermath… Read more
Maine Aquaculture Roadmap offers guide for next ten years
Developed with input from approximately 150 stakeholders at nearly 100 organizations and companies, the Maine Aquaculture Roadmap, 2022-2032 proposes goals and resources to strengthen Maine’s aquaculture sector and working waterfronts over the next decade… Read more
You can listen to Marine Extension Associate and Maine Aquaculture Hub Coordinator, Heather Sadusky, talk about the Roadmap and the future of Maine aquaculture on The Maine Question podcast.
The Beaches Conference is coming to town
The Maine and New Hampshire Beaches Conference is scheduled for Friday, June 10, 2022. To receive updates about the conference venue, themes, registration, program and other details, check in on the conference webpage, like the brand new Facebook page, or sign up for email updates.
Efforts to restore alewife harvest in Pembroke, Maine
In a four-part series about sea-run fish in New England, New Hampshire Sea Grant explores a decade-long effort to restore alewife harvest in the Pennamaquan River… Read more
Signs of the Seasons spring training opportunities are open for registration
Signs of the Seasons is a community science program that engages volunteers of all ages in helping scientists document the local effects of global climate change. Participants observe and record seasonal changes in common plants and animals in their backyards and communities. Please join us! Our 2022 training opportunities are open for registration…Read more
A beautiful new story map developed by SOS volunteer, Andrea Stevens, provides an overview of the program and features some of the ways scientists are using the data to advance climate research… Read more
Education and Workforce Development
Scholarship for undergraduate students now open
In partnership with undergraduate institutions throughout the state, Maine Sea Grant is now accepting applications for its annual Undergraduate Scholarship in Marine Sciences… Read more
In the News
The Fishermen Feeding Mainers program was highlighted in the Portland Press Herald.
In a Portland Press Herald article detailing the future potential for sea scallops in Maine, Marine Extension Associate Dana Morse shared his views.
The Mitchell Center for Sustainable Solutions profiled Assistant Director for Research, Jessica Jansujwicz.
A report on shoreline access produced by Maine Sea Grant, the Maine Coastal Program, and the Wells National Estuarine Reserve was cited in an article in York County Coast Star.
Maine Sea Grant-supported student Michelle de Leon and Wabanaki Youth in Science student intern Noela Altvater published an article in the Bangor Daily News reflecting on their experience with collaborative storytelling.
The publication of the Maine Aquaculture Roadmap, 2022-2032 was covered in News Center Maine, Ellsworth American, and Undercurrent News.
United Press International interviewed Marine Extension Associate Amalia Harrington in an article about how climate change could affect Maine’s lobster industry.
The Village Soup reported on the project Collaborating Toward Climate Change and its work in Islesboro.
The Bangor Daily News detailed a pilot project spearheaded by Dana Morse to repurpose plastics used in aquaculture and fishing.
Mark Your Calendars
- May 2, 4, and 13, Signs of the Seasons Learning Opportunities
- May 14, Bagaduce Alewife Celebration at the Pierce Pond outlet in Penobscot
- June 10, Maine and New Hampshire Beaches Conference
Tune in to WERU Community Radio (89.9 in Blue Hill and 99.9 in Bangor) from 4:00 to 5:00 PM the fourth Friday of each month for Coastal Conversations, a public affairs program hosted by Marine Extension Associate Natalie Springuel that explores current issues facing Maine’s coastal communities through conversations with people who live, work, and play on our coast.