This project explores the Maine soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) fishery. This low-cost intertidal fishery provides an important source of income for more than 1,500 state-licensed shellfish harvesters. The soft-shell clam fishery is an excellent setting to study co-management and how resource management decisions impact resource users. Coastal municipalities can apply to co-manage their clam flats with the state. These Municipal Shellfish Ordinances provide municipalities with the power to require additional licensing (in addition to the state shellfish license) as well as perform clam flat enhancement projects, including conservation closures, reseeding flats, etc. Further, the state can issue temporary clam flat closures due to bacterial pathogens and biotoxins to protect the health of shellfish consumers and the industry. My research on this project focuses on: (1) the impact of harvest and access restrictions (e.g., temporary clam flat closures), and (2) connections between fishery outcomes and the seafood supply chain.

This research is supported by the National Science Foundation under EPSCoR award #IIA-1330691 and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture under Hatch project #ME021704.