Island Students Receive Special License from Department of Marine Resources Advisory Council

The Advisory Council unanimously voted to approve the student's application for a special license. Before voting, council members asked questions of the presenting students and expressed their support for the program. Council member Christopher Weiner, a fisherman from Portland, said "this [program] is the coolest thing…usually I am the youngest person in the room at these meetings." Patrick Keliher, Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, noted that the Eastern Maine Skippers Program "is a testament to schools that are recognizing the value of fishing to Maine's communities and economy."

As part of the Eastern Maine Skippers Program Winter Flounder Project, students will:

• study the life history of winter flounder including prey choice, behavior, and habitat preferences;

• the current rules that impact the development of a new fishery;

• engineer a flounder trap to maximize the amount of legal flounder caught and minimize by-catch;

• collect data that will also address the question of whether it is possible to start an economically and environmentally sustainable trap fishery in Downeast Maine;

• present their findings to Patrick Keliher, Commissioner of Marine Resources, in May.

By investigating the viability of an alternative fishery, students will have an opportunity to learn and practice important skills such as active citizenship, public speaking, interpreting and using data, and applied science and engineering that will prepare them for modern fishing careers as well as post-secondary education. The project will have further application beyond their high school education, however, as students will conduct "real-world" research that fishermen and regulators can use as they seek to sustain the fishing economies which are so important to Downeast communities.

About the Eastern Maine Skippers Program:

In 2012, Deer Isle Stonington High School and Penobscot East Resource Center collaborated to create the Eastern Maine Skippers Program. EMSP is a regional program which aims to provide aspiring commercial fishermen in schools from North Haven to Eastport the skills needed to be successful fishermen in a time of rapid environmental and regulatory change. A cohort of over 40 students from Vinalhaven, North Haven, Deer Isle-Stonington, Ellsworth, MDI and Narraguagus High Schools as well as George Stevens Academy remain in their schools and collaborate in the program via technology-based "anytime, anywhere" learning. Students also meet in person 3-4 times per year to participate in events such as meetings with the Department of Marine Resources and the Maine Fishermen’s Forum.

For more information about the Eastern Maine Skippers Program, visit https://sites.google.com/a/dishs.org/msp/eastern-maine-skipper-s-program.

For more information on Penobscot East Resource Center, visit http://www.penobscoteast.org.

For more information about the Maine Department of Marine Resources Advisory Council visit http://www.maine.gov/dmr/council/dmradvisory/index.htm.