The Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board acknowledged the College of Maine Extension Crew for his or her contributions over a few years, and notably in the course of the pandemic, when the occasion went digital. The group obtained the discussion board’s Distinguished Service award at this 12 months’s discussion board to
commemorate these efforts. L-R: Steve Practice, Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board Board of Administrators;
Jaclyn Robidoux, Maine Sea Grant (MSG); Afton Vigue, Maine Aquaculture Affiliation; Natalie
SpRinguel, MSG; Dana Morse, MSG; Chris Bartlett, MSG; Amalia Harrington, MSG; Parker
Gassett, MSG. Picture by Mike Younger, Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board.

College of Maine college students, researchers, Marine Extension Crew members and alumni have been among the many greater than 2,000 members within the forty eighth Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board in Rockport, March 2–4. The annual three-day occasion brings collectively fishermen, gear suppliers, scientists, authorities officers and others to share info and collaborate on all issues fishing: markets, useful resource standing, rules, the newest in know-how, the surroundings and extra.

UMaine’s Darling Marine Heart, Aquaculture Analysis Institute, Lobster Institute, Maine Sea Grant, and Faculty of Marine Sciences have been among the many greater than 130 exhibitors on the discussion board.

“I had so many fascinating and enjoyable conversations with folks on the discussion board,” stated Lobster Institute assistant director, Chris Money. “Potential college students, members of the trade and neighbors got here by to speak — it’s a nice surroundings to share the College’s ongoing analysis and sources with the broader neighborhood and get suggestions. Numerous collaborations are fashioned on account of casual conversations that start on the discussion board.”

UMaine college and college students attended the occasion to be taught extra about Maine fisheries and fishing communities and to share their science. Graduate college students Phoebe Jekielek and Kelsey Ward have been among the many audio system in a session, centered on Maine’s inshore scallop fishery and aquaculture. Fishermen, scientists and others engaged in Maine’s marine financial system have been working collectively to know and assist the human and ecological dimensions of this fishery and prospects for tradition. The session, co-organized by Jekielek, a senior scientist with Hurricane Island Heart for Science and Management, and Meggan Dwyer, affiliate director of UMaine’s Aquaculture Analysis Institute, was an opportunity to mirror on a long time of labor and to plan for the long run. 

Lobster Institute director Rick Wahle organized a session on how dealing with of lobsters will be altered to reduce loss as they’re moved from traps, to boats, after which to vans and airplanes by way of the provision chain. The session featured analysis findings by professor Damian Brady of the Faculty of Marine Sciences and graduate pupil Cassie Leeman. A second session centered on lobster science was convened by Maine Division of Marine Sources scientists, principally UMaine alumni, and included Amalia Harrington from Maine Sea Grant, who shared her work and the work of many researchers all through the area funded by way of the Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative.

Maine Sea Grant has a protracted historical past of supporting the Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board, having funded the inaugural occasion in 1976 as a part of a collaborative undertaking. In 2021, when the discussion board Board determined to not host an in-person occasion because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine Sea Grant’s Marine Extension Crew, in partnership with discussion board Board members and different companions, helped develop and host periods on-line. They obtained the discussion board’s Distinguished Service award this 12 months to commemorate these efforts.

“Our coastal waters are shared by people and communities with various pursuits. The Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board offers an annual setting for conversations across the points these communities face,” stated Maine Sea Grant director Gayle Zydlewski. “And for us, the discussion board is a chance to listen to instantly from the folks we serve.” Zydlewski additionally serves on the Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board Board of Administrators.

The 2024 Maine Fishermen’s Discussion board might be held Feb. 29–March 2 in Rockport, Maine. Registration opens Jan. 1, 2024. Be taught extra at mainefishermensforum.org. 

Contact: Hannah Robbins, hannah.robbins@maine.edu, 207.581.1442; Christina Money, christina.money@maine.edu, 207.581.1443