The Marine Environmental Research Institute conducts a number of coastal monitoring programs in the mid-coast Maine region. Our core monitoring program, The Blue Hill Bay Monitoring Project is the first comprehensive evaluation of the health of our coastal and estuarine waters. MERI’s Phytoplankton (Red Tide) Monitoring program is conducted in partnership with the Maine Department of Marine Resources and plays a role in the state’s early warning network for harmful algal blooms, Locally, MERI conducts Beach Bacteria Monitoring for the presence of  Enteroccoccus, and alerts town officials when elevated bacteria levels at swimming beaches pose a public health threat. In conjunction with our Seals As Sentinels research, MERI’s Pinniped Monitoring Program surveys the distribution, abundance, and seasonal movements of harbor seals and gray seals in Blue Hill Bay and Penobscot Bay.

MERI’s monitoring projects generate valuable baseline information about the health of our coastal ecosystem that is relied on by town, and state and state federal officials charged with managing natural resources and protecting public health.  Accurately documenting environmental impacts on our local watershed requires intensive, long-term monitoring. Equipped with an EPA-approved marine laboratory, sophisticated field and laboratory instruments, and a highly trained professional staff, MERI maintains a high level of quality research and is recognized at the local, state, and regional level as a trusted scientific institution whose work benefits the community and the Gulf of Maine marine environment.