Coastal & Marine Conservation

Many environmentalists have expressed concern about the incoming Trump Administration, since several of the President-elect’s picks for cabinet appointments are people who question the human impact on climate. Many fear a government pullback from efforts to combat climate change. The Department of Defense, however, is continuing work to adapt its bases to deal with possible threats associated with a warmer planet.

At the end of October, a room full of politicians, biologists, and conservationists in Australia erupted in applause. After five years of negotiations, 24 countries and the European Union unanimously agreed to create a marine protected area (MPA) in Antarctica’s Ross Sea, which is considered the most pristine marine ecosystem in the world. Fellow Cassandra Brooks has worked in the region on this project for years, but says the agreement comes with some important caveats.

Having secured about $5 million in funding for the project, the University of Maine System announced Friday that it is moving ahead with a major expansion of a local applied marine research and education facility.

Approximately 95 percent of global fishing is conducted in small-scale boats, often unequipped with AIS (Automated Identification System) technology. As a result, most small-scale fishing activity goes untracked. Transparency in fishing behavior provides both benefits to the environment and economic advantages for fishermen and communities that depend on fish resources.

Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere put shallow, warm-water coral reef ecosystems, and the people who depend upon them at risk from two key global environmental stresses: 1) elevated sea surface temperature that can cause coral bleaching and related mortality, and 2) ocean acidification. These rising CO2 levels may affect most of the world’s coral reefs and the populations which depend on them by 2050, according to this study in the journal PLOS ONE.

A University of Maine researcher studying the decline of soft-shell clams in Casco Bay has found an effective way to protect clam populations, but is struggling to capture the attention of diggers. Brian Beal, a professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias, is going from town to town along Casco Bay presenting research, insights and strategies into the ways that clammers can protect and restore soft-shell clam populations.

In October 2016, the Northeast Regional Planning body submitted the revised Northeast Ocean Plan to the National Ocean Council for its review and certification. In December 2016, the National Ocean Council announced its certification of the plan. The Plan was developed following several years of public engagement, scientific study and data analysis, and collaboration — along with significant feedback from the general public and stakeholders interested in the future of New England’s ocean and its resources.

Fellow Marissa McMahan is working with Maine locals and Venetian fishermen to turn the invasive green crab into a gourmet dish known in Italy as moleche.

Fellow Sarah Hameed discusses the Marine Conservation Institute's proposed Global Ocean Refuge System (GLORES) to address the growing threats to life in sea. It will be a strategic network of strongly protected marine areas awarded designation according to science-based standards.