The Damariscotta River: Understanding What Makes a Productive Estuary

Students and faculty from the Darling Marine Center and Bigelow Labs, aquaculture industry partners, and the Damariscotta River Association (DRA) will hold a public meeting titled “The Damariscotta River: Understanding What Makes a Productive Estuary” 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 1, at the DRA’s Round Top Farm, 3 Round Top Lane, Damariscotta.

Presenters will share oceanographic research ranging from riverbed composition mapping to water quality monitoring planned for 2016 in the Damariscotta River Estuary.

The focus will be research conducted under the Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) project. This five-year, $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help scientists explore how different types and scales of aquaculture fit into Maine’s multi-use working waterfront and the river ecosystem.

Working with nine partner institutions and more than a hundred researchers, the SEANET project will ultimately replicate oceanographic work being conducted in the Damariscotta to five other study areas along Maine’s coast.

Other SEANET research around the state includes innovations in aquaculture, the effects of a changing environment, and the human dimensions of expanding aquaculture in Maine.

Attendees can speak with panelists, ask questions and participate in discussions. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Meggan Dwyer at (207) 745-0834 or meggan.dwyer@maine.edu.

EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) is a federal program directed at states that have historically received smaller portions of federal research and development funding. The program provides states with financial support to develop partnerships between their higher education institutions, industry, government, and others in order to affect lasting improvements in infrastructure, capacity, and national competitiveness.

Maine EPSCoR at the University of Maine is responsible for administering and implementing the NSF EPSCoR program for the state. For more information, visit www.umaine.edu/epscor.