The Maine Shellfish Co-Management Initiative (MSCMI) is a collaborative partnership working to expand the adaptive capacity of shellfish co-management and tribal fisheries management.
The MSCMI formed when individuals from organizations that were independently working with the wild shellfish fishery started meeting informally to share updates on each organization’s efforts. At the time, these organizations—the MSLN, Manomet, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, and Tidal Bay Consulting—while focusing on different regions of the Maine coast, were often working on complimentary projects.
The group formally became the MSCMI in order to coordinate efforts across the state for broader impact, and to elevate shellfish policy at the state level. Formalizing also enabled members of the group to share expertise on cross-organization projects and to expand project reach due to the relationships different group members have built with communities across the coast. For example, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries has experience supporting shellfish co-management in communities in Downeast Maine, and Tidal Bay Consulting has particular experience with fisheries management and policy in the Casco Bay region.
The MSCMI’s goals were shaped by feedback from harvesters, wardens, and shellfish committee members. In the group’s first year, priorities included: standardizing shellfish survey methodology, increasing the availability of shellfish data at the municipal level, strengthening the role of harvesters and other shellfish program stakeholders at the state level, and growing local capacity for co-management.
The MSCMI’s current priorities include increasing public awareness of wild clams and mussels as local food and a source of sustenance, and supporting efforts to preserve access to the intertidal and to the wild clam and mussel fishery.
Visit the profiles below to learn more about specific initiatives the MSCMI has supported.
The Mudflat 