Maine Center For Coastal Fisheries

Causes: Marine Science & Oceanography, Technology

Mission: Secure a sustainable future for fisheries and fishing communities in eastern maine and beyond, with goals to:1) deliver practical tools and support for today's fishermen to adapt and succeed in a changing fishery. 2) partner with schools and community-based groups to provide k-12, university-level, and professional education to prepare fishermen, regulators and scientists for effective co-management roles. 3) lead an initiative to establish the eastern gulf of maine as the first u. S. Ecosystem-based pilot where fisheries are co-managed by fishermen, community-based organizations, scientists and governments. 4) contribute to ongoing learning and science-based policy for sustainable fisheries locally, nationally and globally. 5) inform the public about a sustainable fishing future and engage broad support for the mission within and beyond eastern maine fishing communities. 6) strengthen the maine center for coastal fisheries as a vital and maturing organization.

Programs: Public outreach and communication includes the organization's outreach to the public about a sustainable fishing future and to engage broad support within and beyond eastern maine fishing communities. This includes the organization fisheries education center at its waterfront headquarters, with touch tank and interactive wall that provides fisheries information for all ages.

ecosystem co-management includes all of the organization's outreach to fishermen, its fisheries licensing policy initiative and all its collaborative research including sentinel survey and other groundfish research. It also includes the community outreach, asset mapping and data management involved in the cooperative research and development agreement the organization is developing with the national marine fisheries service and the maine dept. Of marine resources to develop the science infrastructure to support a co-managed, ecosystem-based fisheries management pilot in eastern maine.

education: eastern maine skippers program is the major educational program of the organization. The organization serves as fiscal and organizational home for the collaborative program that provides aspiring commercial fishermen in eastern high schools with the core knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the 21st century, on the water or in other careers. It prepares students to be effective participants in fisheries co-management roles: as fishermen, scientists or regulators. The organization's other education programs include an active internship program, and university teaching and advising of masters and phd students at university of maine.

northeast coastal communities sector is an unrelated separate 501(c)(5) organization, that is supported by maine center for coastal fisheries. The organization works with 31 member fishermen to provide shared groundfish quota and a voice in new england groundfish policy. Expenses: $64,036permit bank purchases federal fishing permits with quota. The program was established so that local fishermen will have access to groundfish stocks as fish populations recover from past overfishing. Expenses: $7,287seafood systems & economic development includes the organization's work in seafood systems including its partnership with maine farmland trust in land and sea events as well as development of the green lobster boat, a fuel efficient trimaran design. Expenses: $26,635