AP quotes Bouchard in article on lobster shell disease increase

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

April 12, 2018 Cooperative Extension, UMaine in the News

The Associated Press spoke with Deborah Bouchard, a microbiologist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for an article about lobster shell disease ticking up slightly in Maine over the last couple of years. The disease, often called epizootic shell disease, is a bacterial infection that makes lobsters impossible to sell as food, eating away at their shells and sometimes killing them, according to the article. The Maine Department of Marine Resources said researchers found the disease in about 1 percent of lobsters last year, but overall prevalence of the disease remains low, especially compared to southern New England waters. Scientists who study the fishery, such as Bouchard, said it remains important to monitor for the disease, which appears to correlate with warming temperatures. “People have been investigating shell disease,” she said. “I don’t know if we can even call it emerging yet.” The Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News, SFGate and The Kansas City Star carried the AP report.