Blue Hill Bay Monitoring Program

In the summer of 1999, the Marine Environmental Research Institute
(MERI) initiated coastal monitoring activities in Blue Hill Bay in
collaboration with the University of Maine, the Department of Marine
Resources, and the Maine State Planning Office.

Phytoplankton Study: MERI is conducting a study of phytoplankton species in
Blue Hill Bay. Working with the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the
University of Maine Cooperative Extension, MERI staff collect and analyze
samples from plankton tows, looking for the following toxic plankton:
Alexandrium spp., Dinophysis spp., Pseudo-Nitzschia spp., and Prorocentrum
spp.. We will also record samples of non-toxic plankton including: Navicula
sp., Pleurosigma sp., and Nitzschia sp.

Blue Hill Bay Stream Study: MERI has begun a water quality study in
collaboration with the Clean Water / Partners in Monitoring Program, a joint
program with the State Planning Office and Department of Marine Resources. We
are monitoring a small stream entering Herrick Bay, located in southern Blue
Hill Bay. This stream is believed to be the source of bacterial contamination
of the local shellfish bed that has been closed since 1998.

Type: Bay