2021 MSWC Session 8 - Phoebe Jekielek, Hurricane Island Ce

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2021 MAINE SUSTAINABILITY & WATER CONFERENCE - 4/1/2021

Session 8 - Scallop Population Dynamics Using eDNA Techniques

Phoebe Jekielek1, Heather Leslie2, Nichole Price3
1. Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership, Rockland, ME
2. University of Maine Darling Marine Center, Walpole, ME
3. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME

Aquaculture is the fastest growing agricultural sector in the world and in Maine, its total economic impact has almost tripled since 2017. Shellfish (bivalve) aquaculture is growing particularly quickly alongside established wild shellfisheries, generating $32.2M in landings for Maine communities in 2018. Unlike most other farmed shellfish in Maine, scallop production lacks a hatchery. Farms rely on successful reproduction and recruitment from the wild fishery, the dynamics of which are not well understood. This creates the potential for conflict but also opportunity to explore the possible contribution of farms to wild scallop populations. Opportunities with newly-developed environmental DNA (eDNA) tools may help elucidate the complex dynamics of larval supply. The Maine eDNA program is designed to engage with commercially important species and the communities they support by advancing ecological understanding of coastal macrosystems to inform ecosystem-based approaches for management. To be successful, it requires fishing and farming community engagement and interdisciplinary cooperation. As part of this effort and partnering with scallop farmers and wild harvesters throughout Maine, we plan to investigate the following questions – Q1: Can scallop aquaculture farms serve as population refugia and restoration areas for wild populations, and if so, how?; Q2: How do wild and farmed scallop populations respond to ecosystem variability and change? This talk will provide an overview of scallop aquaculture and wild harvesting in Maine, a review of previous relevant eDNA work, and propose a four-year research effort to address the questions above.

For more information about the 2021 Maine Sustainability & Water Conference, go to umaine.edu/mitchellcenter/2021-maine-sustainability-water-conference/.

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