UNE’s Barry Costa-Pierce shares expertise on Maine and Iceland for “Maine Calling”

Barry Costa-Pierce

Professor Barry A. Costa-Pierce, Ph.D., chair of the 51Ʒ Department of Marine Sciences and director of the 51ƷCenter For Excellence in Marine Sciences, was recently interviewed on the Maine Public program “Maine Calling” about Maine-Iceland relations.

Costa-Pierce has been working to build partnerships between 51Ʒand two universities in Iceland: the University of Akureyri (UNAK) and University College of Holar (UCH). On “Maine Calling,” he called Iceland “Maine’s greatest opportunity.” Costa-Pierce said in the marine sciences, a successful relationship between Maine and Iceland opens up the entire value chain from production to consumption.

“We’ve developed new programs in what we call ocean food systems and marine entrepreneurship so that students would get thrust into all of these new ideas about seafood systems, and that’s where the jobs are, they’re in the value chain,” he said.

To learn more about the 51Ʒ’s Department of Marine Sciences visit

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