Additional Information
Looking for more information about shellfish?
Find links here to state and municipal governments, nonprofit organizations, and other connections relevant to the shellfish community in Maine.
Maine Department of Marine Resources
Several shellfish species, including softshell clams and quahogs, are co-managed by the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and local municipalities. Each town has jurisdiction over these shellfish resources to their lower tide line, and must adopt a shellfish conservation ordinance. The DMR provides support and ensures that each town’s shellfish program upholds the goal of the state to balance resource use and conservation. For more information, check out the DMR’s Shellfish Management page.
Maine Shellfish Learning Network
The Maine Shellfish Learning Network (MSLN) is focused on building relationships and improving communication between many different participants within Maine and Wabanaki wild clam and mussel fisheries. Their website, The Mudflat, creates a space to learn about wild clam and mussel fisheries in Maine and Wabanaki homelands while centering cultural and scientific knowledge from the Wabanaki peoples.
Downeast Institute
The Downeast Institute (DEI) is a marine research laboratory and education center that supports applied research on key shellfish species in Maine, including soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) and quahogs (Mercenaria mercenaria). DEI’s mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of Downeast and coastal Maine through marine research, marine science education, and innovations in wild and cultured fisheries. Find out more on the DEI Research page.
Casco Bay Municipal Shellfish Program Webpages
See what shellfish committees in the region are up to! The Casco Bay ‘region’ is defined inclusively to include communities adjacent to the Bay and within with watershed.
Arrowsic
Chebeague Island
Freeport
Georgetown
Scarborough
Biddeford
Cumberland
Harpswell
West Bath
Brunswick
Falmouth
Phippsburg
Woolwich (general municipal website)
Yarmouth
Banner Image from Jerry Monkman.