Management
This page is divided into three sections: Mission, Programs and Activities. Each deals with an aspect of the duties and functions of the Regional Office concerning shellfish management.
MISSION
The Biologists stationed at the Regional Offices are responsible for assisting municipalities with shellfish management programs. The Biologist is a consultant to the town knowledgeable in both state regulations and clam management. The soft-shell clam resource belongs to the people of the State of Maine. As a natural resource trustee, the Department of Marine Resources, through the biologists, must ensure that municipalities who have assumed the responsibilities of management do so in a manner that is consistent with the state's goal of achieving a balance between utilization and conservation. Specific areas of assistance include: preparation of management plans, reviewing renewal ordinances and amendments, recommending management activities and controls, training municipal personnel in survey and seeding techniques, and analyzing survey and production data.
PROGRAMS
Municipalities
The following towns with shellfish management programs occur in the Midcoast Maine Region:
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Arrowsic
Boothbay
Boothbay Harbor
Bremen
Bristol
Cushing
Damariscotta
Edgecomb
Friendship
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Georgetown
Islesboro
Newcastle
Rockport
St. George
Searsport
South Bristol
South Thomaston
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Southport
Stockton Springs
Thomaston
Waldoboro
Warren
Westport
Wiscasset
Woolwich
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Committees
The shellfish management programs are administered by the municipal officials with the advice of the shellfish committee. The duties and responsibilities of the committees can be found in the Model Shellfish Conservation Ordinance. The Regional Biologist attends as many of the Shellfish Committee meetings as possible and takes notes which are written up as Meeting Highlights and provided to the Program Manager. Select the following link to go to our "News and Meetings" page for meeting dates: Town Shellfish Meeting Information.
ACTIVITIES
Clam Flat Surveys
All of the commercially based management programs and many of the recreational based programs conduct clam flat surveys to ascertain their clam resources. The Regional Biologist is tasked with training individuals and groups to conduct clam surveys according to the procedures developed by DMR. In addition, the Regional Biologist will also analyze survey data generated by the management programs that request it.
Annual Management Review
The 2008 Annual Management Review forms were sent out at the beginning of December to all Shellfish Conservation Committees with a March 1st deadline for submission. The purposes of the review are: 1) to document and discuss the conservation activities of the past year, 2) to plan and document the proposed activities for the coming year and 3) to determine if the municipality is meeting its regulatory requirements under the Municipal Shellfish Conservation Program - DMR Regulations: Chapter 7. The Regional Biologists assist municipalities in conducting the reviews and preparing the forms. A comprehensive review of the 2003 forms was completed in June. Each program was evaluated on management performance and reporting compliance.
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