Maine Shellfish Learning Network launches new website

The Maine Shellfish Learning Network (MSLN) is a first-of-its-kind partnership that connects stakeholders from more than twenty-five coastal communities, from Lubec to Yarmouth, to help protect and improve their shellfisheries. It focuses on “building relationships and improving communication between many different participants within Maine and Wabanaki wild clam and mussel fisheries,” which face a range of challenges from water quality to systemic inequities to climate change. The network includes harvesters, towns, and community groups and facilitates communication and collaboration as they adapt and work toward solutions.

The MSLN recently launched a new website, The Mudflat, with a goal to “make resources available that communities can use and adapt to support local ways of living.”

Bridie McGreavy, associate professor of environmental communication at UMaine and a Mitchell Center faculty fellow, leads the MSLN team. Anthony Sutton is community food facilitator for the MSLN. He recently completed his Ph.D. in ecology and environmental sciences at UMaine where he focused on Wabanaki food systems. Gabrielle Hillyer is project coordinator for the MSLN and a Ph.D. student in ecology and environmental sciences in the National Research Traineeship Program at UMaine.

Bridie, Gabby, and Tony worked on the Mitchell Center project Strengthening Coastal Economies, which helped lead to the creation of the MSLN. They will give a presentation on their work on April 12 as part of the Mitchell Center’s spring Sustainability Talks series.