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Dr. Susan Shaw heads first Explorers Club State of the Oceans Forum

On Sunday March 22, 2009, MERI Director Dr. Susan Shaw chaired the first State of the Oceans Forum with Dr. Sylvia Earle at the Explorers Club, New York. A panel of distinguished Explorers/ marine scientists including Drs. Shaw, Earle, Nancy Knowlton, David Gallo, and David Guggenheim conveyed a powerful message about the crisis facing our oceans and the need for immediate, concerted actions to reverse current trends. Signs of distress include the collapse of global fish stocks, coastal dead zones, plastic debris, ocean acidification, sea temperature warming, disappearance of coral reefs, widespread chemical contamination and die-offs of marine mammals. The Forum concluded with an Explorers Call To Action from the panelists:

“It is clear that human activities are altering ocean ecosystems beyond a point of return. We urgently need to prevent further ocean degradation and reverse the damage before it is too late. We have less than 10 years to save the living oceans.”

Panelists presented numerous possible solutions: establishing networks of marine protected areas, reducing toxics use and emissions, promoting green technologies, and reaching a broad public with the ocean message. Plans are underway to hold two follow-up Explorers forums with these panelists to focus on identifying and promoting positive solutions to the ocean crisis. The first forum will be held on December 7, 2009 and another will be scheduled in spring 2010.

State of the Oceans Forum program (pdf)

Explorers Call to Action (pdf)

MERI’s Blue Hill Bay Watershed Monitoring Project, established in 2004, will begin its sixth year in mid-April 2009. This is the only comprehensive monitoring project for one of Maine’s largest watersheds. From April through October, MERI researchers monitor 40 freshwater and marine sites on a weekly basis, testing for water quality, nutrients, and bacteria levels. This project has proved to be an invaluable resource for citizens and town officials. MERI will also be monitoring the influx of red tide in Blue Hill Bay. In recent years, massive red tide blooms have caused closures of shellfish beds in the area.

MERI Ocean Environment Lecture Series


Seal pupping season is approaching! Harbor seal pups are born on the coast of Maine between late April and mid-June and some pups will wind up stranded on our beaches. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, it is illegal to disturb or harass seals and other marine mammals in US waters. This applies to abandoned or stranded seals found on the shoreline. While it’s understandable to want to help animals in distress, it is not recommended that untrained people attempt to rescue stranded or entangled marine mammals because it is illegal and potentially dangerous. If you come across a stranded marine mammal, keep your distance and restrain any pets or other people from approaching the animal as this may further harm the animal. Do not attempt to move the animal or drive it into the water. Note the location, time, and condition of the animal and contact the nearest stranding network organization in your area. MERI collaborates with the Northeast Region Stranding Network in conjunction with College of the Atlantic/ Allied Whale to respond to marine mammal strandings in mid-coast and Downeast Maine. MERI’s Seals As Sentinels project generates data on toxic contaminants and health parameters in marine mammals and commercially important fish species in the northwest Atlantic marine ecosystem.