Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) perform important ecosystem functions by creating complex habitats, increasing species richness and biodiversity, and increasing water quality through filtration. They also offer a nutrient-dense source of protein to a growing market and support commercial fishery and aquaculture industries. For years now, mussel beds have been moving further offshore from the intertidal zone to the subtidal zone and mussel beds are becoming increasingly difficult to find. We need your help to understand where mussel beds are located in the intertidal and subtidal zones.

Join Aquaculture Program Manager, Carissa Maurin, Fisheries Biologist, Aaron Whitman, and Community Science Project Manager, Abigail Long for a conversation about why blue mussels are important to the Gulf of Maine and why we need your help to understand where they are. Learn more about Mussel Bed Mapping Community Science and how you can participate!

Following this webinar, join GMRI and partner organizations in southern Maine and New Hampshire IN PERSON on June 18th at 8am to make observations of mussel beds at an extreme low tide. Exact locations TBD.