Earlier this month Executive Director Paul Anderson and Chief Scientist Dr. Carla Guenther traveled to Calais, Maine and St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada to determine the deployment location for a water quality monitoring sensor in the St. Croix River. This is part of our new project that is being funded with a five-year grant from the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Observing Systems (NERACOOS). MCCF is working with partners from the Passamaquoddy Nation on both sides of the international border to create a coastal observing system that will collect water quality information this summer prior to the planned removal of the Milltown Dam just north of Calais. During the visit, we conducted salinity studies and deployed one buoy-based monitoring sonde that was loaned to us by the University of Maine for the summer. We also visited with scientists from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Huntsman Marine Lab. Later in the year, we will purchase new equipment and will have two monitoring stations within the estuary. This data provides useful information for evaluating conditions before and after dam removal, which will help improve our understanding of river conditions for restoration of sea run species like alewife.

The MCCF team visited the University of Maine in Orono last month to connect with researchers and to tour some of the labs and facilities that are involved in offshore wind energy development. We visited the Advanced Structures & Composites Center and saw their testing lab for composite manufacturing, the wind turbine testing facility, the wind and wave test tank, and one of the largest 3-D printers in the world. Dr. Anthony Viselli was our host and provided a history of the facility and a summary of their upcoming research projects. We also met with Dr. John Belding in the Advanced Manufacturing Center to discuss applications of their research and technology in the fishing and aquaculture sectors. It's important for our group to understand these capacities here in Maine and to help cultivate partnerships and projects that can solve problems in our coastal communities.

You're invited to join us on Friday, April 29 at 12:30pm for "A River Herring Network: MCCF’s Work Supporting Research, Management, and Communities Around a Species That Connects Us All," the next talk in our online Lunch and Learn Series. MCCF's Collaborative Management Specialist, Mike Thalhauser, will give a timely talk, just as alewives and other “river herring” are returning to local ponds to spawn after years in the open ocean. This presentation will cover the basic life history of river herring, local/state/federal management, monitoring and research, and how we can restore, sustain and understand this iconic species through partnerships and connections. Learn more and register today.

MCCF's interpretive learning center, Discovery Wharf, will open for the season beginning on Saturday, May 28. Our summer hours include Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Visitors are encouraged to book their visit online as private tours will continue to be offered. Captain Leroy Weed will be in his third season of welcoming visitors and answering questions about Maine's commercial fisheries. This year, we are pleased to have Ella Webber, a Colby student, assisting Leroy as an intern. Guests will also experience new exhibits including our outdoor interpretive signage display and Leroy's workshop. Book your visit today!