Category Archives: Mudflats

January 18th, 2017 FBRSC

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Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Committee Meeting

Lamoine Town Hall

January 18, 2017

The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and the Community Environmental Health Laboratory presented watershed information at the monthly Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Committee meeting at the Lamoine Town Hall. The DMR reported on water quality in Frenchman Bay, focusing on Martin Cove, Lamoine Beach, and the Trenton Seaplane Ramp, which are all listed as pollution areas. The DMR completed a shoreline sanitary survey in 2016, which identified new problem areas and resulted in four new Prohibited areas. The Community Environmental Health Laboratory is working on developing a watershed survey for identifying the pollution source(s) in Martin Cove, an area identified by the Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Committee as a priority area for its shellfish resource. They brought a proposed timeline, map, and example survey forms to share with the committee.

Shellfish Focus Day at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum

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Rockland- Thursday, March 5, 2015 was Shellfish Day at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. Dozens of people showed up to hear academics, government representatives, and fishermen speak about the shellfish industry. Topics in the morning included red tides, economic losses from wastewater treatment plant closures, using technical and applied marine science to support management decisions, and action planning. Afternoon topics focused on viral indicators and shellfish sanitation, clam projects in Freeport, and clam farming in Maine. Click to view the Frenchman Bay Partners presentation, Working Together to Get Things Done.

Conservation Action Planning Mudflat Progress

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The Frenchman Bay Partners (hereafter Partners) are a diverse group of people who help organizations in the watershed work together for ecosystem health and marine-based livelihoods. The Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Committee (hereafter Shellfish Committee) formed in 2009 in response to widespread red-tide closures to manage the intertidal mudflat resources in the 7 towns in the ordinance. The respective missions of two organizations address the long-term stewardship of the region’s resources.  The two groups have been working together since 2011.

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Mudflat project updates

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At College of the Atlantic, students have been developing protocols for measuring the pH on clamflats, and comparing different meters to see which ones are the most precise, and this fall will measure pH on several flats in Bar Harbor. One student, Katie O’Brien, has also buried clam pre-weighed clam at three different sites in look at rate of weight loss of shells as a measurement of the potential threat to clam growth from low pH on clamflats. Those clams are being collected in October and if the technique shows promise, the study will be expanded next year.
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Good news for mudflats: 610 Project receives funding, makes progress

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The 610 Project (pronounced six-ten) is a collaboration between the Partners, the Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Committee and the Hancock County Planning Commission to build capacity towards the goal of opening closed clam flats in Frenchman Bay. This project received its initial funding from the Maine Community Foundation’s Community Building Grant Program. Through a conservation action planning process, the Partners and shellfish committee have identified the five-year goal of opening all 610 acres of clam flats in Frenchman Bay in which harvesting is restricted due to unknown bacterial pollution sources. They will accomplish this by building capacity within the shellfish committee for watershed surveys and organizational development.

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Report: “Working Waterfronts and Mudflat Habitat: Addressing Marine Based Livelihoods in Frenchman Bay”

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During her time as Americorps volunteer, Emma Fox produced a case study on the interaction between user groups, intertidal mudflat resources, and how their interaction impacts the economy in Frenchman Bay. She analyzed landings data of soft shell clams and blue mussels for 2008-2011, interviewed a diverse cross section of stakeholders, and reviewed literature on clam flat management, ecosystem valuation, social capital and ecological economics to provide a preliminary attempt at a market-based ecosystem valuation, an evaluation of potential losses in harvester sales incurred from pollution closures in Frenchman Bay, and recommendations about economic data gathering for each of the other conservation targets of the Frenchman Bay Partners. Download the report here. [PDF]

Clam Conservation

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Most of the available clam resource in Bar Harbor is at Hadley Point and in Thomas Bay. Clam harvests are regulated by the town which has an ordinance. There are conservation areas on the east and west side of Hadley Point. Both areas have been closed in the past for conservation, but are currently open for harvesting. The Bar Harbor Marine Resources Committee, in partnership with College of the Atlantic and MDI High School, has been active in conducting clam surveys. The last survey of the east side in fall 2009 revealed a peak of one inch clams. Two inch clams are the legal size for harvest. The resource on the east side of Hadley Point is generally larger than on the west side. The amount of spat recruitment is variable from year to year and probably does more to influence population size than conservation closures. In terms of conservation closures, the Bar Harbor Marine Resources Committee has learned that 6 month closures are ineffective. Two year closures will enable populations to re-bound, but given the current intensity of clamming, the positive effect of the closure is not long-lived.