Blue Economy

There’s no denying Massachusetts has an intrinsic connection to the sea. We’re the Bay State, after all, boasting distinctive coastlines and fabled harbors, including Boston, Newburyport, New Bedford, Salem, and Gloucester—home to one of the oldest fishing seaports in the United States.  

So how does this seafaring state’s flagship campus, landlocked 100 miles from Boston Harbor, serve maritime denizens? Since 1976, UMass Amherst has maintained a research outpost in Gloucester’s Hodgkins Cove in the southern Gulf of Maine. Helmed by a team of experts in marine and fisheries ecologies, environmental conservation, and climate resilience, the UMass Amherst Gloucester Marine Station (GMS) is carrying out UMass Amherst’s extension mission, which aims, in part, to conserve and enhance natural resources. This fall, GMS will break ground on $3 million in upgrades, including a living sea wall, outdoor research and learning space, and a new dock and crane. 

GMS scientists study coastal change along the Massachusetts North Shore, research ways to foster sustainable ocean systems, and collaborate on pressing issues like the weakening of the commercial fishing industry.   

As fishing has seen declines, the local economy, culture, and way of life are threatened. “We’re taking action,” says Katherine Kahl, GMS director of strategic initiatives. Born directly from collaborations and conversations with lobstermen and fishermen, GMS research considers their needs and how science can help revolutionize not just the fishing industry but the “Blue Economy,” which encapsulates the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources for all sorts of climate-resilient economic growth and jobs. Kahl explains, “Everything we do considers the history, the cultural fabric, and the relationships that the fishing industry brings to the North Shore and to the commonwealth.”