Tom Kiffney: Bivalve Enthusiast

I am currently finishing up my PhD in the Brady lab at University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center (DMC). The DMC, its people, and its deep connections to Maine’s aquaculture industry have been a huge part of my career path. I have spent most of my life in Maine, growing up in Portland and attending Colby College for undergrad where I majored in biology and environmental science. Going into college I had a love for science but hadn’t found the niche that truly excited me. My junior year I took a chance on marine science and spent a semester at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay. It was a small program where we got to take part in research, courses, and small oceanographic cruises in the Damariscotta River estuary. I loved being on the water and the enthusiasm of the scientists we got to work with, but still felt like something was missing. I was looking for a field where I felt more connected to the people who could use the research that was being produced.  

I found that missing piece the following summer when I ended up at the DMC as an intern with my current advisor, Damian Brady, in the EPSCoR program Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture NETwork (SEANET). That summer I got to work with farmers and researchers to improve site selection for oyster aquaculture. I went to oyster farmers to measure oyster growth, process water samples, and learn how researchers were connecting it all to make tools for the industry. I also saw graduate students volunteering to work on farms to learn from the farmers themselves and farmers attending events at the DMC to learn more about the research side. I was hooked on aquaculture research and was looking for any way to stay involved. 

After graduating, I moved south to work at the University of North Carolina’s marine station in a lab studying human pathogens in cultured oysters. I returned to UMaine and DMC in 2019 to start graduate work continuing research in site selection for shellfish farms. I am now funded through a partnership between the USDA and UMaine’s Aquaculture Research Institute (ARI). As part of my work, I help manage ARI’s experimental farm at the DMC and continue our applied shellfish research. My interests revolve around understanding how shellfish and the environment interact and how we can use this knowledge to improve husbandry practices, farm productivity, and build site selection tools with buoy data and satellite imagery.

One project I am currently working on is testing different methods of intertidal aquaculture. Drying oyster cages and tumbling oyster to improve the shape of the shells are two of the largest labor needs on oyster farms. Cages with floats suspended from raised lines in the intertidal or shallow subtidal can expose oysters and gear to air on low tides to control biofouling and when the tides come in, the cages rotate around the line and tumble the oysters. We have been exploring growth, survival, labor and shell shaping of oysters in these systems as well as potential labor savings at the DMC farm and with Damariscotta farmers who have already adopted it. 

The DMC is an amazing part of UMaine that has allowed me to build, learn, and collaborate with aquaculturists, the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Maine Sea Grant, and faculty on the Orono Campus that make my work possible.