Ecosystem Health

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School of small fish swimming underwater, conveying the biodiversity and health of marine ecosystems vulnerable to environmental change.

Healthy ocean ecosystems are crucial to life on earth. Failure to adequately steward the Gulf of Maine will put the communities of people who depend on it at risk. In order to protect the marine environment from the impacts of climate change and human use, we must first improve our understanding of these ecosystems.

To solve the many challenges facing our ocean ecosystems, we're asking:

  • What baseline data do we need to collect now to better measure ecosystem change over time?

  • How has rapid warming affected the Gulf of Maine and what can we expect in the future?

  • How can we improve our management of fisheries and other marine resources?

  • How do we support communities to investigate changing ecosystems in their own backyards?

Ecosystem Science & Impact

Alewives in Clear Water 2

Over the last several decades, Gulf of Maine coastal regions have seen dramatic declines in groundfish, an explosion of lobsters, habitat loss and recovery periods for critical species like alewives, and the appearance of more southerly species such as black sea bass. These and other major ecosystem changes can have cultural and economic consequences.

Our team of scientists conducts innovative, transdisciplinary research to understand the complex coastal and marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine and beyond. We apply that knowledge to the region's most challenging environmental issues to advance the long-term sustainability, growth, and resilience of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and the people who depend on it.

We then develop products and deliver services that turn our ecosystem science into on-the-ground impact, whether that be in a port meeting, a classroom, a town hall, or a boardroom.

Dive Deeper

Learn more about our ecosystem monitoring efforts by exploring our 2024 Casco Bay Ecosystem Report.

Learn More

  • Featured Partners

    We collaborate with a broad network of communities and organizations to bring our work to life. Get to know some of these other ecosystem-focused leaders.

  • The Maine Aquaculture Association logo.
  • Maine Department of Marine Resources logo
  • Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences logo

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