Dana is based at the Darling Marine Center in Walpole, and is involved in educational, outreach, and applied research programs in aquaculture and commercial marine fisheries. His work is usually either technical in nature, such as fishing gear research for bycatch reduction, or more social, such as convening meetings about local aquaculture applications.

Dana Morse
Marine Extension Associate
Darling Marine Center
Clarks Cove
Walpole, Maine 04573
207.563.3146, ext. 205
Fax: 207.563.3119
Email Dana Morse

Oyster gardening is an educational program, which uses the process of growing oysters to engage participants in topics like estuarine ecology, shellfish biology, aquaculture regulation, stewardship, public health, natural resource management, and a host of others. Oyster gardening got its start in the Chesapeake Bay region, and has since spread to many other coastal states. Our program here in Maine has been adapted from those developed elsewhere, to meet our particular needs, opportunities, and constraints.

The Spring Running is an outdoor festival in Augusta, Maine, designed to focus attention on the Kennebec River and its value as a natural resource to the people of the region. It has a strong emphasis on stewardship and education, but also serves as an economic development opportunity, in the belief that good environmental ethics and a vibrant economy go hand in hand.

The first year for this festival was 2006, and the planning for the 2007 event (June 2, 2007) is under way. The program will feature exhibits from groups from the region and around the state (Trout Unlimited, Maine Dept of Fish and Wildlife, Kennebec Valley Watershed Association, and others), instruction and displays (fly tying and casting, fly rod building, and shad and alewife smoking), a farmers' market, entertainment and more. Those interested in following or participating in the program can look on the event Web site: www.springrunning.com.

This collaborative research project is a product of an idea from the late Stanley Coffin, a fisherman from Edgecomb, and Kelo Pinkham, a fisherman from Boothbay. The goal of the project is to modify a trawl net so that it improves escapement of small cod and haddock, and is a follow-up to some promising preliminary work done in 2004. We will examine the effects of using a 4-seam bottom trawl having 6” hexagonal mesh in the side panels, as measured against a more standard net that has 6” diamond mesh in the side panels. It is hoped that the hex mesh will allow small cod and haddock to escape, and still have good catching ability for market-sized individuals. Since cod and haddock are important groundfish stocks in the Gulf of Maine multi-species complex, preserving the upcoming generations is of concern to fishermen, biologists, managers, and conservationists alike. Field trials are scheduled to begin in the spring of 2007.

Facilitation