NEWS FROM MAINE SEA GRANT | SPRING 2013 ------------------------------ *EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS* Climate change educator Esperanza Stancioff is co-author of a paper in the *Journal of Extension* <http://www.joe.org/joe/2013february/iw1.php>that describes how Extension, with its access to long-term volunteers, has the unique ability to teach citizen scientists about the connection between climate variability and the resulting effects on plants, animals, and thus, humans. Stancioff and Sea Grant Associate Director Beth Bisson coordinate the Signs of the Seasons <http://umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/> phenology monitoring program. *EXTENSION HIGHLIGHTS* Congratulations to the graduates of the Aquaculture in Shared Waters<seagrant.umaine.edu/aquaculture-in-shared-waters>program. Fishermen from the Interstate Lobster Co-Op in Harpswell and the Corea Lobster Co-Op completed intensive and thorough training in aquaculture production of bivalve shellfish and marine macroalgae (seaweed). Over the last few months, the students have paired classroom work with applied, hands-on activity, and they are now prepared to pursue aquaculture leases and business development. Extension associates Sarah Redmond and Dana Morse worked with Sea Grant researcher Theresa Johnson and external partners to facilitate the training program. Activity associated with America’s ocean and Great Lakes waterfronts accounts for 3.41 percent of total U.S. Gross Domestic Product and 4.85 percent of total employment, representing some 130,855 businesses employing 2.4 million full-time and part-time employees, according to new research released in March by the National Working Waterfront Network<http://www.wateraccessus.com/econanalysis.cfm>. The economic data is one of several reports released in March by the Network, under the leadership of Marine Extension Team members Natalie Springuel and Kristen Grant, along with the National Sea Grant Law Center’s Stephanie Showalter Otts and the Island Institute. The project was funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. A Maine Property Owners Guide to Flooding, Erosion, and Other Coastal Hazards <http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/coastal-hazards-guide>, an online resource for coastal property owners and the municipal officials who work with them, has added detailed information to help owners navigate the regulatory and permitting processes associated with actions they are considering to increase resilience of their properties. *RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS* Maine Sea Grant research and extension have aided the permitting process of the first-ever grid-connected tidal power device in the U.S., helping connect the developer, Ocean Renewable Power Company, to scientific expertise and technicians in the area for the implementation of fish, seabird, and marine mammal monitoring programs. Sea Grant research is providing data on fish numbers, relative size, and behavior in proximity to the tidal energy device, using side-looking acoustic sonar. Extension associate Chris Bartlett helps to connect researchers with the community to exchange knowledge. *PUBLICATIONS* *The Catch: Writings from Downeast Maine<digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/the_catch> * is a new, place-based online literary journal featuring works of poetry, fiction, essay and other prose inspired by the fisheries and coastal heritage of Downeast Maine. *The Catch* is related to the Downeast Fisheries Trail, a maritime heritage education effort that highlights 45 sites of current and historic fishing heritage in Maine's two eastern coastal counties. *The Catch* is supported by the Maine Sea Grant College Program, Raymond H. Fogler Library, and DigitalCommons at the University of Maine. Two new interpretive panels featuring the sea-run fisheries of eastern Maine have been installed at the Wild Salmon Resource Center in Columbia Falls and the East Machias Aquatic Resource Center, both sites on the Downeast Fisheries Trail <http://www.downeastfisheriestrail.org>. The alewives are running! The March edition of Maine Audubon’s Wildfire<http://maineaudubon.org/blog/2013/03/wildfire-the-importance-of-alewives-for-healthy-rivers-and-a-healthy-economy/>television program is focused on Maine alewives and features video footage and still photography from Maine Sea Grant. Learn more about this year’s migration here.<http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/blog/tracking-alewife-migration> *2013 calendars*, featuring historic and contemporary images from the Downeast Fisheries Trail, are available at no cost by calling 207.581.1435. Kovach, A.I. et al. 2013. Identifying the spatial scale of population structure in anadromous rainbow smelt (*Osmerus mordax*<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783612002147> ).* Fisheries Research* 141:95-106. Pershing, A. et al. 2013. Large-scale coherence in New England lobster settlement associated with regional weather<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2419.2012.00629.x/abstract>. *Fisheries Oceanography* 21:348-362. Wahle, R.A. et al. 2013. The geography and bathymetry of American lobster benthic recruitment as measured by diver-based suction sampling and passive collectors<http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17451000.2012.727428#preview>. *Marine Biology Research* 9:42-58. Willis, T.V. et al. 2013. Tracking cod diet preference over a century in the northern Gulf of Maine: historic data and modern analysis<http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v474/p263-276/>. *Marine Ecology Progress Series *474:263-276. *EVENTS* Signs of the Seasons Volunteer Training<http://umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/>| 14 June 2013 Tour Our Resilient Coast<http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/extension/coastal-community-resilience/tours>| 29 June 2013, Southern Maine Maine Beaches Conference <http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/maine-beaches-conference>| 12 July 2013 ------------------------------ Maine Sea Grant College Program | 5784 York Complex Building 6 | The University of Maine | Orono, ME 04469 (207) 581.1435 <%28207%29%20581-1435> | [log in to unmask] [image: Inline image 2] <http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/> Subscribe <[log in to unmask]> | Unsubscribe<[log in to unmask]>