Press Herald quotes Wahle in article on Maine researcher’s contributions to fighting climate change

The Portland Press Herald quoted Rick Wahle, director of the Lobster Institute and research professor in the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine, in an article about Falmouth native Noah Oppenheim’s efforts to fight climate change. Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, is helping crab fishermen on the West Coast sue 30 of the world’s major oil companies for ruining their fishery by continuing actions that exacerbate climate change while deceiving the public about their role in the issue. The lawsuit is the first legal action by a private industry group seeking damages from energy companies for loss resulting from climate change, the article states. “[Oppenheim] was a very confident guy from the outset and willing to take on big challenges. This is pretty consistent with what I’ve seen right from the time he was an undergraduate,” said Wahle, who was Oppenheim’s mentor for his graduate studies at the Darling Marine Center. Oppenheim worked with Wahle to research cannibalism in lobsters while earning a dual master’s degree in marine biology and fisheries policy at UMaine, according to the article.