Modeling Estuarine Circulation on Maine Mudflats to Improve Shellfish Harvesting
Principal Investigator: Damian Brady (Marine Sciences, UMaine)
Partners: Bureau of Public Health, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Shellfish Advisory Council.
Abstract: Soft shell clam fishery is the second most valuable resource of all marine species harvested in Maine. However, the industry faces threats from pollution. Specifically, changes in water quality due to bacterial pollution have led to several fishery closures. This project partners with UMaine, NEST, UMaine Machias, DMR, DEP, ShAC, and the Town of Waldoboro to develop better information on estuarine circulation in order to reclassify the Medomak River, one of Maine’s most valuable shellfish harvesting sites. For this purpose, this application requests financial support for a GA who will develop a modeling platform capable of identifying conditional areas that might be opened for clamming with better information on residence time of bacterial pollution in this system.