U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a $216,005 grant to the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). The funds will be used for resource monitoring of Maine fisheries.
“The Maine Department of Marine Resources plays an invaluable role in the development and promotion of the state’s prosperous fishing industry,” Senators Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. “This project will help the DMR continue to provide its vital support to Maine’s coastal industries through informative statistical surveys and marine life research programs.”
The NOAA grant will fund a number of research initiatives at the Maine Department of Resources. These projects include a recreational fisheries statistics survey of the charterboat/headboat fleet as well as the development of a volunteer angler survey logbook to supplement the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey (MRFSS). The funding will also be used to monitor the northern shrimp and lobster fisheries.