Research

Downeast Institute has established a soft-shell Clam Recruitment Monitoring Network that spans the entire coast of Maine.

During 2021, Downeast Institute and partners continued our work testing the effects of sediment buffering (adding recycled crushed shells to mudflats) vs predator protection on commercial [...]

DEI's research, representing the New England region, will work to improve the resilience of hatchery-reared blue mussels to the interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming with diet [...]

Arctic surfclams, Mactromeris polynyma, are a $100 million fishery in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. This valuable species grows in the Gulf of Maine, but commercial quantities don’t exist in Maine [...]

The second phase of our mussel research focused on developing hatchery techniques that enable the production of mussels throughout the year and multiple crops per year, testing different types of [...]

Milky ribbons worms were identified through DEI’s research as a major predator of soft-shell clams, contributing to the decline of soft-shell clam populations, especially in southern Maine. IIn [...]

One of the more important findings from the 5-year investigation into the cause of the southern Maine clam decline was that in order for clams to survive they need to be protected not only from [...]

Downeast Institute’s goal is to increase the supply, quality, and species diversity of U.S. seafood through pilot and commercial-scale culture of Arctic surf clams. Expanding upon [...]