Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI)

GMRI’s Mission: 

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) develops collaborative solutions to global ocean challenges. Each year, we serve more than 25,000 stakeholders throughout the Gulf of Maine (from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia) to ensure our region's ecosystems, communities, and economies can thrive in a warming, changing world.

Grant Project Goal(s):

To apply video monitoring technology to assess the fisheries habitat value of aquaculture farms in the Gulf of Maine.

Background:

Studies have shown that shellfish and marine algae farms can be beneficial to commercially important fish species by offering physical structure and refuge from predation, providing or aggregating food resources, and positively influencing substrate, hydrodynamics, and hydrology.

In the Gulf of Maine, several commercially important fish species that use inshore habitats as nurseries include Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), and Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). These species are depressed or declining in abundance but would be expected to benefit from the types of habitat provided by aquaculture facilities.

Immediate Objective(s):

GMRI researchers will assess the abundance, species composition, and behavior of fish associated with oyster and mussel farms as well as on control plots along Maine’s coast using a custom underwater setup with GoPro cameras.

Researchers will build and test the custom video monitoring apparatus and test and refine their methods, as well as collect environmental data at each site such as current, temperature, and light.

Key Learnings:

What challenge/need were you facing prior to receiving support from Sea Pact?

One challenge that served as impetus for this work is that around "social license", or general community support, for the aquaculture industry. Despite their importance to a diversified and resilient marine economy, aquaculture farms often face resistance related to environmental, competitive use, and aesthetic concerns. This project sought to combine eDNA and video footage to assess the utility of aquaculture infrastructure by wild species and understand its habitat value. In doing so, this project also sought to further validate the application of eDNA in open water systems.

What changed after being part of Sea Pact’s grant program? What specific outcomes can you share?

Thanks to our grant from Sea Pact, we now have a better understanding of the habitat value provided by aquaculture farm infrastructure. Specifically, we now have evidence of mussel rafts providing summer habitat to 8 different wild species--including alewife, American eel, Atlantic menhaden, herring, mummichog, cunner, rock gunnel, and winter flounder. We also made tremendous progress in application and validation of eDNA, including the manipulation of DNA fragment lengths to understand how long ago identified species were present in a given area.

Are there any key learnings/takeaways that you can share that would benefit the entire seafood industry?

Concrete evidence of the habitat value of aquaculture infrastructure may help industry members further articulate their case for support. Additionally, continued work to utilize eDNA in open water systems, particularly related to manipulation of fragment lengths, will help us to provide accurate and timely information to marine stakeholders--including those in the seafood industry--on species distribution and abundance.

Learn more at Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI)

Mussel aquaculture raft in Casco Bay, Maine.  Photo courtesy of GMRI.

GMRI researcher and eDNA water sample. Photo courtesy of GMRI.