Maine Coastal Program
The Sea Around Us
Maine's
cold marine waters are some of the world's most productive,
providing habitats for a diverse and varied assemblage of
species, including at least 1,600 different types of bottom
dwelling organisms, 73 different types of commercially-harvested
fish, and 26 species of whales, porpoises and seals. This
high diversity of marine life is supported by a variety of
marine and estuarine habitat types including salt marshes,
sandy beaches, rocky substrates, sheltered coves, eel grass
beds, muddy and sandy sediments, gravel beds, and macroalgae.
See http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/doccoast/coastal3.htm for a comprehensive description of Maine’s marine habitats.
According
to the Department of Marine Resources, Maine’s seafood
industry provides 26,000 direct and indirect jobs and $777
million in economic impact to the state economy. Maine is
also first in revenues for landed fish in the Northeast with
a total landed value of all species in 2000 of $336.1 million.
Atlantic herring, lobsters, the groundfish complex, and sea
urchins are the largest catches by weight with lobsters, sea
urchins, groundfish, soft-shell clams, and scallops comprising
the highest landed value. See http://www.maine.gov/dmr for additional species information, current landings data,
and information about state sponsored ecological studies.
Maine’s marine and estuarine waters are also used
for a variety of other economic and recreational purposes
including: recreational fishing; oil and cargo transportation;
passenger transportation; and recreational boating. Indeed,
the economic well-being of many of Maine's coastal communities
depends on the long term viability of our marine resources
with many of our citizens deriving their income directly and
indirectly from the ocean.
One of the challenges to managing and protecting the habitats
of important flora and fauna is limited knowledge about the
complex and dynamic nature of marine ecosystems. The habitat
requirements of any given species can change dramatically
over the course of its life. For example, the early life stages
of the lobster are planktonic, subject to ocean currents and
other environmental factors. Juvenile and mature lobsters
are bottom-dwellers. Yet, there is much that we do not know
about the life process of the lobster and other marine organisms
and how susceptible they are to varying coastal conditions.
Several recent initiatives are providing a foundation to determine
the distribution of organisms along the coast and how that
information could inform management decisions.
Marine Habitat Mapping
Increasing concern over the status of fish habitat has prompted
efforts to identify areas of critical importance to depleted
species. At the same time, ecologists are attempting to improve
their understanding of habitat requirements for other members
of the marine community and to break new ground with new management
programs based on ecosystems, vs. traditional single species
management approaches. Only by answering fundamental habitat
questions can we begin to understand how vulnerable or resilient
the marine community is to human activities. Studies of several
bays in Maine in recent years present an excellent opportunity
to look at marine habitat protection in nearshore ecosystems.
To date, relatively little effort had been made to document
the habitat relationships of early-life stage fishes in Maine’s
nearshore environments. In a step to support better ecosystem
management approaches, the Maine Coastal Program provided
the Maine Department of Marine Resources with funds to develop
a method to identify associations between juvenile fishes
and the habitat they use. The study integrated the use of
traditional (e.g. fish sampling through trawl surveys) and
more technologically advanced research tools (e.g. acoustic
seabed classification systems, and geographic information
systems.) The study generated new information about Maine’s
nearshore habitats in Penobscot Bay, Saco Bay and in the Sheepscot
River and allowed DMR to refine and improve its use of new
technology.
For more information about this report, contact John Sowles at the DMR.
Penobscot Bay Marine Resources Collaborative
In a much larger project, administerd by the Island Institute,
the Maine Coastal Program partnered with numerous other organizations
in the Penobscot Bay Marine Resources Collaborative, a five
year effort to collect and integrate oceanographic, ecological
and fisheries data and to apply the data to Bay management.
Other organizations involved in the project include: Maine
Office of GIS (MEGIS), Institute, Maine Department of Marine
Resources, Maine State Planning Office/ME NOAA/NESDIS, U.S.
Geological Survey, University of Maine, Bigelow Laboratory,
and Maine Maritime Academy. The project, scheduled to be completed
in May of 2002, achieved the following results:
- demonstrated the use of remote sensing in coastal management
- developed a model to predict recruitment of lobsters
in the Bay
- developed a publicly accessible database about the physical
and biological characteristics of Penobscot Bay
- demonstrated a multidisciplinary approach to resolution
of marine resource management issues
- provided the impetus for the creation of the Gulf of Maine
Ocean Observing System
- assisted state agencies in developing capacity to use
new technology
Data from the Collaborative are currently available from the Maine Office of GIS http://apollo.ogis.maine.gov/projects/penobay/data.asp
The Pen Bay Marine Resources Collaborative was funded by
NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite and Data Information
Service http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/
Order your copy of “Using Remote Sensing to Address
Coastal Management Issues; The Maine Project” by contacting Lorraine.Lessard@maine.gov.
The CD includes a case study of the Penobscot Bay Resources
Collaborative project.
For more information about marine habitat research and management
in Cobscook Bay, go to Cobscook Bay Resource Center http://www.cobscook.org
The Nature Conservancy--Maine Chapter http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maine/
Symposium on Effects of Fishing Activities on Benthic Habitats:
Linking Geology, Biology, Socioeconomics, and Management http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/bh2002/
Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System
The Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System
(GoMOOS) is a not for profit corporation providing up-to-date
information on ocean and weather conditions of the Gulf of
Maine. Hourly data on wind, waves, water temperature, ocean
currents and more are collected from a system of 10 buoys
and displayed on the Internet at www.gomoos.org.
Other data available include surface current information from
four land-based radar installations, sea surface temperature,
wind and ocean color information from satellites and forecasts
of waves and ocean conditions from models.
This information can be used by mariners to make daily decisions
affecting their safety at sea, by managers seeking information
to make decisions about marine resources; educators looking
for real-life data to use in their classrooms and others.
The possibilities are virtually limitless. While similar observing
systems are planned in the US and in Europe, GoMOOS is the
first system of its kind whose design was driven by the user’s
perspective.
The Maine Coastal Program/State Planning Office provided
staff assistance for the initiation of GoMOOS and continues
to participate on its Board of Directors. The US Office of
Naval Research has been the primary funder of GoMOOS to date.
GoMOOS is structured as a membership organization to ensure
that the system is responsive to the users in the Gulf of
Maine, and to provide a revenue for the system through fees
paid by members. For further information about GoMOOS and
to send your ideas about the potential or actual uses of ocean
data send e-mail to info@gomoos.org.
Aquaculture
The Maine Department of Marine Resource website (http://www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/index.htm) provides an overview of the aquaculture industry in Maine
and includes links to a wide variety of information.
In recent years, the Maine Coastal Program has worked with
DMR on policy, regulatory, environmental monitoring and public
outreach issues related to aquaculture:
- Policy Development -- With Maine Coastal Program staff
and funding support, the State developed and adopted a Strategic
Plan for Aquaculture in 1997 that outlined actions that
would enable the growth and development of both finfish
and shellfish aquaculture in the state.
- Regulatory Reform -- To address regulatory backlogs for
minor projects, MCP helped revise Maine’s Aquaculture
Lease Law http://www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/index.htm to create provisions for experimental leases and permit-by-rule
standards for aquaculture equipment. These leases are designed
to encourage new entrants into the industry via a streamlined
approach for small-scale, short-term activities.
- Education -- A new publication, a joint effort of the
Coastal Program, the University of Maine Sea Grant , DMR
and the Maine Aquaculture Association provides educational
material about the types of aquaculture in Maine and the
process by which leases are granted. Contact Lorraine.Lessard@maine.gov for a copy.
- Monitoring -- For the last fourteen years, DMR’s
Finfish Aquaculture Monitoring Program (FAMP) http://www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/famp01.htm has collected detailed records on all finfish operations
in state waters. Extensive paper records on the feeding,
stocking, mortalities and husbandry practices of all finfish
operations in Maine’s jurisdictional waters is supplemented
by data from annual and semiannual on-site monitoring visits.
While DMR uses this information to monitor current conditions,
no comprehensive retrospective analysis of the data has
been conducted. With Coastal Program support, DMR is conducting
an analysis of this data will provide quantitative and qualitative
information about the long-term effects of aquaculture on
benthic habitats, water quality and other ecological parameters.
The review, currently underway, will include the following
steps:
- Data management - paper and video data will be converted
to electronic format and entered into DMR's new electronic
biological database; electronic reporting forms will
be developed to automate the monthly report procedure;
- Scientific review and policy recommendations - an
advisory committee will oversee the review of the data
and develop policy recommendations; this will include
a review of the current scientific and management literature,
assessment of the data and policy recommendations.
For more information about the FAMP review, contact John
Sowles at the DMR at John.Sowles@maine.gov.
Marine Habitat Conservation
Presidential Executive Order 13158 issued by President Clinton
in 2000 and reaffirmed by President Bush in 2001 calls for
the establishment of a comprehensive system of marine protected
areas (MPAs) in the United States. While there are many definitions
for the meaning of the term “MPA”, many accept
the definition developed by the World Conservation Union:
"any area of the intertidal or subtidal terrain, together
with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical
and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other
effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment"
(IUCN, 1988; Kelleher, 1999).What kind of additional protection
should be afforded to marine habitats and how such protective
tools should be applied has sparked an energetic debate across
the U.S. and within the Gulf of Maine.
Conservationists embrace the idea of establishing a system
of marine protected areas that would: help improve fish stocks,
protect biodiversity, and serve as living laboratories for
improvement in fisheries management. Harvesters are wary of
additional closures and other potential restrictions in historically
accessible areas. The lack of a scientific and ecological
framework for looking at marine resources and determining
the need for such protection has only increased the conflict
between conservationists, managers and fishermen.
See http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=press_documents to read or download a copy of the Ocean Conservancy's U.S.
GOM-MPA report.
See http://www.mpa.gov/,
maintained by NOAA/US Dept. of Commerce and the US Dept of
the Interior is a comprehensive website on the topic of Marine
Protected Areas including information about US National MPA
Intitative, weblinks for other organizations that are involved
in MPA, references, resources, etc.
See http://www.gulfofmaine.org/library/mpas/mpa.htm for a description of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine
Environment’s MPA project.
See http://www.clf.org/ for information on the Conservation Law Foundation’s
MPA initiative. CLF’s recent publication The Wild Sea:
Saving Our Marine Heritage provides a useful appendix of the
status of MPAs and the regulatory framework for protection
in Maine and other Gulf of Maine jurisdications. CLF’s
Conservation Coast to Coast, Atkinson and Hart, 2001 compares
Gulf of Maine and west coast states.
