During the early mornings of June 8th and 9th, groups of 8th-grade students from the Charles M. Sumner Learning Campus filed off their school bus and onto Prospect Harbor’s mudflats. Quadrants hung off of shoulders, and data sheets flapped in the breeze. A survey of green crab populations was about to take place.
Welcome John Ayarik
The Gouldsboro Shellfish Resilience Lab is very pleased to announce that John Ayarik will be joining us as our 2023 summer intern. John is a graduate student pursuing a degree in Environmental Science at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. He previously earned his bachelor’s degree in marine science from the University of Ghana in West Africa.
Meet Ada Fisher
We are delighted to announce that Ada Fisher has joined the Gouldsboro shore team as an intern. A junior at Sumner Memorial High School, Ada is considering career options that will keep her connected to the shore and ocean. Ada will contribute to all parts of the Gouldsboro Shore program.
Gouldsboro Shore in the News
Gouldsboro and its Gouldsboro Shore program have been in the news lately. We link to an article that Rachel May published in Outrider that looks at the Shellfish Lab and Anne Berleant's article in the Ellsworth American about what Gouldsboro is doing to protect waterfront access.
Shellfish Lab at Fisherman’s Forum
At this year's Maine Fisherman's Forum, Mike Pinkham and I talked about what Gouldsboro has been doing in its Shellfish Resilience Lab. Here is give you a summary of the presentation and a look at our plans for this summer.
Community Clam Dig
Readers have emailed us questions about the Community Clam Dig in Prospect Harbor at 3 PM next Sunday, October 9 that we featured in our most recent newsletter. This post answers those questions and extends an invitation to join us and learn more about what clam harvesters do and how you can dig your own clams.
Learn How to Dig Clams!
Gouldsboro Shore and the Gouldsboro Shellfish Committee invite the community clam digging demonstrations and lessons on Sunday, October 9, at 3:00 PM in Prospect Harbor. Whether you've dug your own clams for a while or have never been on the mud, this is an opportunity to learn from commercial diggers about how to spot where clams are and dig them.
Clam Research in Timber Cove
Timber Cove, located just west of Gouldsboro Point, is one of two research sites the Downeast Institute (DEI) is using to study Arctic surfclams. Over the last decade, DEI has been investigating whether Arctic surfclams might be a way to diversify the kinds of shellfish available to commercial and recreational clammers. They grow naturally in Maine's offshore waters, and DEI is developing and testing techniques for raising them on intertidal mudflats.
“Volunteers” in the Lines. CRUNCH Followed by WHOOSH!
Wednesday, 9/7, was a big day at the Shellfish Resilience Lab. Four of us (Chantal, Elin, Mike, and Pauline) went to the lab to do a routine tank cleaning. Cabot, the Lab Labrador, was there as well, "guarding" the loading dock for us. We figured it would take about an hour and a half with all of us experienced tank cleaners there. Not so, it turns out.
Nursery Trays are Floating
Last week, Mike Pinkham and I spent a few days constructing five nursery trays that our small seed clams would soon be placed in. A nursery tray is a rectangular wooden tray about 3-4 feet in length and width, and about 3 inches high. The bottom and top of each tray is made of a … Continue reading Nursery Trays are Floating