Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries

Education: Eastern Maine Skippers Program is the major educational program of the Organization. The Organization serves as fiscal and organizational home for the collaborative program that provides aspiring commercial fishermen in eastern Maine high schools and in their early careers with the core knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the 21st century, on the water or in other careers. It prepares students to be effective participants in fisheries co-management roles: as fishermen, scientists or regulators.Education also includes the organization's Fisheries Education Center at its waterfront headquarters, with touch tank, interactive wall, and virtual reality experience that provides fisheries information for all ages. Additional educational outreach to the public includes a summer internship program, a monthly Lunch & Learn webinar series, a weekly newspaper column, and hosting college field trips.

Science includes the Organization's ongoing work with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources in community outreach, asset mapping and data management to develop the research framework to support a co-managed, ecosystem-based fisheries management pilot in eastern Maine. It includes all of the Organization's collaborative research including Sentinel Survey, lobster research, investigation of larval scallop distribution in support of scallop aquaculture, and coastal ocean observation and monitoring in collaboration with the Passamaquoddy.

Convening includes all of the Organization's outreach to fishermen, its River Herring (Alewife) restoration activities, support for community shellfish co-management, and collaboration on watershed restoration initiatives with the Downeast Fisheries Partnership.