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Shellfish Aquaculture and Management
Shellfish landings in Maine are at historic lows—due to the effects of climate change and an increase in predators like the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) and the milky ribbon worm (Cerebratulus lacteus). Manomet is working with shellfish harvesters and aquaculturists on a suite of aquaculture projects to diversify clam, oyster and quahog harvests. Soft-shell clam aquaculture Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) are the second most valuable fishery in Maine—valued at about $18 million in 2014. Unfortunately, soft-shell clam landings in many coastal communities have reached historic lows. A soft-shell clam farm involves seeding sub-productive intertidal flats with hatchery-raised clams and then covering the seeded area with plastic netting to protect the clams from one of its main predators, the...
A little fish with a big impact
By: Anne Hayden, Program Manager, Sustainable Economies Program More and more people are feeling the love for a little fish with a big impact, the alewife. The Downeast Fisheries Partnership (DFP), coordinated by Manomet’s Anne Hayden, is making the case for alewife restoration in eastern Maine’s rivers and streams. These fish are commercially harvested and a local delicacy, but they are also the base of river and coastal food webs and a key component of the Partnership’s focus on restoring cod, haddock, and other species. The spectacle of adult alewives surging upstream each spring draws fishermen and wildlife enthusiasts (as well as osprey and other predators), but it is the return of millions of juvenile alewives back downstream to...
Climate change and coastal communities
By: Eric Walberg, Senior Program Leader, Climate Services Program Excerpted from the Nature-based infrastructure: The multiple benefits approach to coastal resiliency article in Manomet’s Partnerships for Sustainability FALL 2016/WINTER 2017 Magazine Climate change underscores the need for a green infrastructure-based approach to conservation planning. Coastlines around the world will be dramatically reshaped by sea level rise. Processes that have been set in motion by a warming planet, such as thermal expansion of sea water and melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, will continue to unfold for centuries to come. In the immediate future, sea level rise will continue to exacerbate vulnerability to storm surge flooding by providing a higher launch point for coastal storms. The...
Students get muddy for science
Creating a sustainable food system is one of Manomet’s key goals and our Clam Farm Project’s work to restore the soft-shell clam fishery in Maine will help to make that goal a reality. Funded by a $288,000 grant from NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy program, Manomet’s project helps coastal towns in Maine learn about soft-shell clam farming and will launch five new farms in Maine. Manomet and our partners have been busy this fall starting a new clam farm and getting students out to the Heal Eddy clam flat for some muddy (and educational) fun! Soft-shell clams are the second most valuable fishery in Maine—valued at about $18 million in 2014. Unfortunately, soft-shell clam landings in many coastal communities have declined in recent...
Maine Soft-shell Clam Aquaculture Project
Maine’s $18M soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) industry is in trouble. The Gulf of Maine has been warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. Warmer waters have allowed populations of the invasive European green crab to increase along Maine’s coast and decimate the soft-shell clam resource in some towns. Because the crabs prey on younger clams, once the commercial-size clams are harvested, there are no juveniles to replace them. The fishery collapses. Shellfish harvesters are looking for a solution to keep clamming a viable option for future generations of Mainers. WHAT WE DO To address this growing concern Manomet partnered with clammer Chris Warner in 2012 to develop Maine’s first commercial soft-shell farm off the coast of...
4th Quarter Development Update
Annual Fund Thank you for helping us reach our goal—and then some! You Did It! Thank you for your dedicated support and for helping us not only reach, but exceed our FY 2015 Annual Fund goal by $60,000, for a total of more than $960,000. We depend on our supporters more than anything else. Because of the generous contributions of our many donors we continue our work towards a sustainable future. You make it possible for Manomet to grow and change with the demands of the times, and all of us at Manomet want you to know how grateful we are to have you on our team. If you haven't given to Manomet this year, please...
El Niño: What is it and why does it matter?
According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center there is an approximately 95% chance that the current El Niño will continue through this winter, and evidence suggests that it may be one of the strongest on record. While many people have heard about El Niño, without detailed knowledge of meteorology and climate science this phenomenon can be difficult to understand. Every month the Climate Services team at Manomet writes a bulletin for our Climate Smart Land Network (CSLN) members where they discuss climate-related topics that have a direct impact on their operations. This month, it will address this familiar yet complicated topic of El Niño, as North American forests will likely be impacted by this climate pattern . So,...
Manomet lands $288,000 NOAA grant for clam farming work
This article was published by the Island Institute on September 29, 2015. See the article here. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded Manomet a two-year, $288,000 grant to help Maine towns set up softshell clam farms. The grant comes from the NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service Saltonstall-Kennedy Grants Program, which funds projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable. Maine’s $18 million (in 2013) softshell clam (Mya arenaria) industry is the state’s third most valuable fishery, after lobster and elvers (glass eels). Softshell clam harvesting has been a mainstay of coastal communities for centuries, but with the warming waters in the Gulf of Maine in...
NOAA Awards Manomet $288,000 Grant to Help Maine Coastal Towns Pioneer Softshell Clam Farming
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded Manomet a two-year, $288,000 grant to help Maine towns set up softshell clam farms. The grant comes from the NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service Saltonstall-Kennedy Grants Program, which funds projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable. Maine’s $18M (2013) softshell clam (Mya arenaria) industry is the state’s third most valuable fishery, after lobster and elvers (glass eels). Softshell clam harvesting has been a mainstay of coastal communities for centuries, but with the warming waters in the Gulf of Maine in recent years, the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is decimating clam...
Researching Importance of Florida’s St. George Island as Trans-Gulf Migrant Stopover
By Alan Kneidel, former Manomet shorebird researcher and landbird bander Nearctic-Neotropical songbird populations are under pressure on their breeding and wintering grounds as well as during migration. Migration stressors are accentuated during the crossing of ecological barriers such as the Gulf of Mexico. Although much research has been performed on the central and western Gulf Coast, little is known about the stopover significance of the barrier islands of Apalachicola Bay, Florida. Barrier islands of the Gulf Coast serve a critical role in the annual cycle of trans-Gulf migrants. The islands serve as the first opportunity for landing, and function as a “fire escape” for physically stressed birds. For these birds on the brink, the islands provide an...