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On October 15, 2015, teams of marine researchers from the 51Ʒ�� and the University of Maine deployed a high-tech buoy in Saco Bay off the coast of Camp Ellis -- the first of three oceanographic buoys to be deployed in the area as part of the universities’ participation in the Maine Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) program.

SEANET, which was created by a $20 million Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grant from the National Science Foundation, takes a multi-institutional, transdisciplinary research approach to gaining a comprehensive understanding of how sustainable ecological aquaculture can interact with coastal communities and ecosystems.

The buoys will record data, such as nutrient levels and the speed and direction of water currents, to aid in the growth of Maine’s aquaculture industry.

Other types of environmental monitoring, such as field investigation and lab analysis, will supplement the data collected by the buoy system, to help researchers and aquaculture business owners determine the best types and scales of sustainable aquaculture for specific locations along Maine’s coast. Barry Costa-Pierce, Ph.D., Henry L. & Grace Doherty Professor and chair of UNE’s Department of Marine Sciences and director of the Marine Science Center explained, “Through a deeper understanding of what is happening in the water in various bioregions, we can tailor aquacultural activities accordingly to be as sustainable, high-yielding and profitable as possible.”

Costa-Pierce noted that sustainable aquaculture will play an increasingly significant role at the state, national and international levels in food production and economic development. UNE’s research into improving Maine’s contribution to aquaculture through its participation in the SEANET program is complemented by the University’s recent efforts to forge deeper ties with the marine economies of other countries, particularly Iceland and other Arctic nations.

51Ʒ��recently announced its support of the New England Ocean Cluster House, an incubator of marine-related businesses and researchers being co-developed on Portland’s waterfront by the head of the Iceland Ocean Cluster House in Reykjavik. Costa-Pierce and other delegates from the University are currently attending the Arctic Circle Assembly, the preeminent international forum for Arctic cooperation and sustainable development.

“This buoy system is part of a larger research network that will not only support aquaculture industry development for Maine’s working waterfront but will, ultimately, have worldwide implications,” Costa-Pierce stated. “Maine is emerging as a major player in the global seafood ecosystem, and aquaculture is at the forefront as a sustainable source of both food and economic development.”

Three other buoys, identical to those to be deployed in the Saco area have already been placed in the Damariscotta River. Over the course of the project, these six buoys will rotate through different regions of the state to provide a coast-wide oceanographic assessment of potential aquaculture areas. In addition to these larger buoys, four medium sized oceanographic buoys and ten versatile small buoys are available for deployment in each region. This network of medium and small buoys will be deployed this spring.