Beal speaks with WVII about grant to improve mussel aquaculture industry

Brian Beal of the Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research spoke with WVII (Channel 7) about a new grant that aims to improve Maine’s mussel aquaculture industry. Beginning several years ago, fishermen started coming to the Downeast Institute because they were having trouble getting mussels to settle on their ropes, WVII reported. “They were looking for a consistent supply of mussels that they weren’t getting in the wild,” said Beal, who also is a professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias. “The idea here is to create the infrastructure so that marine scientists and others who want to come and study marine habitat and marine systems have a place to stay,” he said.