My name is Melisa Uyar and I am currently a PhD student in Ecology and Environmental Science at UMaine. When I arrived at UMaine originally as a M.S. Economics student, my early coursework and research led me to applied projects exploring consumers and seafood. This was my first exposure to marine resource economics (if we […]
Read more
Growing up in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, I was basically a city kid who needed the ocean to breathe in every vacation. Every chance I got, I traveled, and the coastal trips were always the closest to me. Nothing captured me quite like Cox’s Bazar, the longest natural sea beach in the world. Standing […]
Read more
My family left Broad Channel years ago though the imprint of the community and my childhood lingers. The island is where I first squished my toes in dark, sticky marshland mud and inhaled the pungent perfume of low tide in view of the glowing lights of the Empire State Building. Once a year, I make […]
Read more
“Dear Anna, Congratulations! On behalf of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs…” were the first words I read with half-asleep eyes, from the email sent at 2 in the morning, Philippine time. The Young Southeast Asian Leadership Program was a program revered by my peers; competition was high, especially for […]
Read more
Always a child who would rather be outside than anywhere else, it was on the cliffs of Acadia on a ranger-led tide pooling walk that I decided I wanted to be a marine biologist. My dreams shifted many times after that, but the path found me again when I entered Northeastern University as part of […]
Read more
I’ve always loved the ocean since I was a little kid. Though I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., my earliest memories are of my parents taking me tidepooling in Northern California and watching the sea otters play at Monterey Bay Aquarium. I’ve always been captivated by the exotic and mysterious forms that […]
Read more
“You’ve got Maine on the brain,” my father used to tell me. Growing up in Memphis, TN, I often found my thoughts drifting far beyond my urban hometown, captivated by the idea of Maine’s sweeping landscapes and vast beauty. Growing up in the bustling city streets of Memphis cultivated my passion for human connection and […]
Read more
I’m Dylan, a high school student based in San Diego, California. This spring I got to turn my passion for the ocean into hands-on experience at the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR). During the month of May, I worked as a student intern, shadowing CCAR’s Aquaculture Research and Education Program Coordinator […]
Read more
Each summer, Portland, ME fills with cruise ships and foot-traffic; tourists looking for scenic coastal views, local shops, and some of the best regional cuisine in New England. However, these aren’t the only tourists looking for a great meal. Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABFT), Thunnus thynnus, are a highly migratory species that exist throughout the Atlantic […]
Read more
Walking along the shore always brings back fond memories of when my mother and I would stroll along the Tanzanian coast, where I spent much of my childhood. We used to fly kites, pretend to be mermaids, and marvel at the many sea turtles we’d meet. I distinctly remember the day I saw my first […]
Read more