Shifting Tides

Mike Thalhauser, Collaborative Management Specialist, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (MCCF), adds, “Anne is just one of those people you love working with. Her passion for co-management is inspiring and working alongside her is just plain fun.”

Throughout her many career accomplishments, Anne has remained grounded, engaged, thoughtful, and inclusive. Her deep understanding of fishing culture has resulted from decades of listening to the observations and perceptions of fishers and harvesters. She is also an innovator, always thinking of new ways to approach a challenge. As Anne transitions to a much-deserved retirement, she will be leaving behind a legacy of more sustainable fisheries, better management practices, and more resilient marine ecosystems and coastal communities.

One of her legacies that she is leaving behind is her work to formalize our Fisheries internship program and we are excited to share that we have two interns on hand to assist with the summer field season.

Eve Fischer is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Geography and Environmental Planning with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Planning at the University of Maine at Farmington. She is studying the potential for establishing a culinary market for invasive European green crabs in Maine. This summer, Eve will be contributing to the ongoing development of a green crab industry in New England by compiling case studies of industries developed for other invasive species such as Asian carp and lion fish, documenting the similarities and differences in how New England states and Canadian provinces have approached fishery development for green crabs, and ultimately producing some policy and regulatory recommendations and best practices.

Gabrielle Hillyer is the Project Coordinator of the Maine Shellfish Learning Network and a Ph.D. student in the School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences in the National Research Traineeship Program at the University of Maine Orono. Her focus is on the multiple levels of coastal resilience and engaged research, specifically understanding how science can be better communicated to encourage local management changes. She received a Masters’ of Science for Marine Policy and Oceanography at UMaine in 2019. This summer, Gabrielle will focus on better understanding policy needs and limitations for community based restoration efforts in Maine’s shellfish fishery and will develop capacity for community based restoration by creating a guide that provides resources, recommendations, and contact information for other municipal managers who have undergone the process, as well as developing recommendations to reshape the policy around aquaculture permitting used for community restoration.