The Gulf of Maine Research Institute has established itself as a effectivel convenor within the highly charged arena of natural resource conflicts related to aquatic resources. We have forgone advocacy in order to provide a unique neutral forum to discuss aquatic resource management challenges within the Gulf of Maine and its watershed.

Within this neutral forum, all manner of unexpected events occur. Bitter opponents warm up to each other. They learn about each other's families, businesses, hopes, and fears. They develop collaborative research initiatives and produce missing data that all parties trust. The conflict evolves into a search for a pragmatic solution to a complex problem.