Gouldsboro's shellfish committee places recruitment boxes along the shore to gather data about recruitment density. Identifying the bays and coves where recruitment is strongest is important when deciding where to focus restoration efforts. On December 17th we opened up the recruitment boxes that had been sitting out on mudflats during summer and fall. Opening up the boxes is kind of exciting. What will we find?
2021 Nursery Tray Findings
On November 16, 2021, a team of volunteers retrieved and processed the 10 nursery trays that had been floating in the old lobster pound behind Gouldsboro’s Shellfish Resilience Lab in Bunker’s Harbor. This is a report on what they did and what they found. It also looks ahead to what these findings mean for work in 2022.
Steamers in the Rain
July 19, 2021, was a foggy, drizzly day, but that didn't stop more than 70 Gouldsboro residents from coming to the town park in Prospect Harbor to sample clams harvested by Gouldsboro shellfish committee member Mike Cronin. The year-round and seasonal residents attending the event learned about the new Shellfish Resilience Lab that is under construction in Bunkers Harbor.
Welcoming Our First Clams
June 30th was a big day for the shellfish lab and team–Shellfish Warden Mike Pinkham brought the first batch of clam spat back to the lab! With our team of intrepid volunteers, we set out to install our nursery trays. These clams will spend this summer and fall outside in the lobster pound enjoying local algae and (hopefully) growing into seed clams.
Getting Folks Out on the Clam Flats
On Sunday, June 6, fifty people came down to the clam flat at the top of Prospect Harbor to learn more about what is going on, other than clam harvesting, when they see a group of people out on a clam flat with nets, buckets, boxes, and other gear. They also learned that Gouldsboro, like some other communities, uses nets to protect clams from green crabs and recruitment boxes to collect newly settled clams.
Shellfish Lab – Getting Started
Work on the shellfish lab when it first started in Jamuary, 2021. This is a picture of the lab entrance as it was then. On January 27, 2021 three of us got together inside the lab-to-be to make a list of materials to begin turning what was a clam buying station into a shellfish lab. I took pictures so you could come on inside and join us in envisioning what the lab would be.
Gouldsboro’s Shellfish Lab – What It’s About
Gouldsboro is now (November 2020) beginning planning for its Shellfish Resilience Laboratory and hopes to have it operational by this spring. Located in Bunkers Harbor, the Resilience Lab is not only a key element in Gouldsboro's program to restore clam flats to productivity and sustainability, but will also collect data and develop know-how that other Maine communities can use to manage municipal shellfish operations as Maine's climate changes.