ENVR124

The Gulf of Maine, due to its oceanography and other factors, has historically supported the harvesting of abundant marine resources, such as groundfish, lobster, and shellfish. Climate change is, however, leading to considerable environmental change with warming waters, increasing ocean acidification, and sea level rise, forcing communities to adapt existing resource management, reconsider location of coastal structure, and make way for new uses of the Gulf of Maine, such as aquaculture and energy production. This interdisciplinary course draws on oceanography, ecology, history, economics, anthropology, and political science to explore these pressures on the marine environment’s impact on coastal economies. Through lectures, discussion, readings, and field trips, students explore the social and ecological dimensions of managing fisheries and aquaculture with a focus on the Gulf of Maine.