Gloucester is the birthplace of commercial fishing in the United States, which is deeply woven into the region’s culture and economy.
Community-Based Participatory Research with Coastal Fishing Communities
We are working with partners and creating community-engaged research partnerships and experiential learning opportunities to improve our understanding of the local fisheries and seafood systems issues and the complex set of challenges up and down the seafood supply chain.
Lobster Bait Alternatives
Researchers from UMass Amherst's Department of Food Science and Department of Environmental Conservation have teamed up with Gloucester-based company Neptune’s Harvest, the Massachusetts’ Lobstermen’s Association, and local lobstermen to explore alternatives to reduce waste and increase revenue for the lobster fishery. This project is funded by the NOAA Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative Program.
Building Sustainable, Equitable, and Inclusive Seafood Marketing in Massachusetts
Coastal communities in Massachusetts are facing job and revenue declines in the traditional seafood economy. These are multicultural communities with generations of people dependent on the seafood economy for their livelihood. This study is focused on partnerships to provide science-based solutions to support the seafood system.
The project also includes the design of educational and outreach materials in different languages—English, Spanish, and Portuguese—in order to spread the word about sustainable practices, traditions, and cultural values from these seafood-dependent communities.
Striped Bass, River Herring, Winter Flounder
This project includes work around the economically and culturally important striped bass, river herring, and winter flounder fish populations. It is supported through a partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Mapping UMass Seafood System Expertise
We are mapping UMass seafood system expertise across our five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Lowell, Dartmouth, and Chan Medical School) to assess our coordinated capacity and identify the partnerships needed to tackle priority research questions.
The project is sponsored through a Massachusetts Seaport Economic Council grant and builds upon previous work with the UMass Boston Urban Harbors Institute to engage researchers and local stakeholders within the Commonwealth’s seafood system.
Life Below Water: Using Fish as Global Indicators of Microplastics in Seafood Webs
Gloucester Marine Station is working with the Stockbridge School of Agriculture to investigate marine debris and microplastics in seafood webs. The project is supported by a Worldwide Universities Network award including seven partner universities across four continents.
The research team includes members from University of Alberta, University of Bergen, University of Ghana, University of Massachusetts Amherst (lead university), National Cheng Kung University, University of Southampton, and the University of Western Australia.
