UMaine Study Looks at Maine Sea Scallop Populations
Contact: Contact: Paul Rawson (207) 581-4326; David Munson (207) 581-3777
ORONO, Me. – UMaine Professor of Marine Science Paul Rawson and Ph.D. candidate Erin Owen are using funds provided by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and Maine Sea Grant Program to study populations of sea scallops along the Maine coast.
An economically important fishery in the state, the scallop harvest has been steadily declining in recent years, with state scallop landings dropping in value from more than $15 million in 1981 to less than $1 million in 2004. Rawson and Owen are using the $110,000, two-year grant to look at the ecology and genetics of scallop populations in the context of various environmental factors. This study will determine whether the Cobscook Bay sea scallop population is a separate stock from the
population found in Penobscot Bay.
By looking at the relationships between different scallop populations along the coast, Rawson hopes to assist in fine-tuning management strategies for specific coastal regions.