Pelagic Fisheries Lab

08/28/2026

We tag various highly migratory species in the Gulf of Maine and beyond. However, when tagging at night, it's very important that you can see what you’re doing to ensure the animal that you are tagging is safe, as well as your research team. The tagging process is a lot easier when you have ample lighting, so our DuraBrite lights were crucial in allowing our research team to have full visibility when tagging this white shark. Thank you to DuraBrite lights for illuminating our research trips offshore! 💡🦈

08/26/2026

08/19/2026

Oyster Tumbling with QBC!🦪

Earlier in the summer, our interns and techs were able to tag along with the crew at the Quahog Bay Conservancy for a couple of days! While at QBC, our interns learned how to tumble, manage and operate a Maine farm, and monitor the health of oysters!

Thank you to the Quahog Bay Conservancy for hosting them! They had an absolute blast being on the oyster farm!!

08/17/2026

FINAL WEEK🥺🎣🧬

Since this is the final week of our Internship Program, we thought we would highlight some of the fun opportunities our 2026 crew had this summer! A lot of their time was spent at the Portland Fish Exchange, collecting biological samples, including muscle tissue and otoliths, from Atlantic bluefin tuna! We have even had a few darts left behind in some of the tuna heads for our intern crew to take as souvenirs!

Stay TUNED(😉) throughout this week to see what these guys have been up to!

08/15/2026

Maine white shark, TAGGED! 🦈

Here in Maine, we have access to some amazing migratory fish species, like white sharks! As part of a collaborative effort with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, we have the incredible opportunity to conduct research on them. With all of the recent sightings of white sharks in Southern Maine, our research team went out in search of tagging one to learn more about their behavior beyond the sightings!

This PFL and DMR crew was fortunate enough to encounter this beautiful ~8 foot female white shark nicknamed “Bug” and deploy an acoustic tag as well as a pop-off satellite tag. The information collected by these tags will provide our scientists, as well as the Maine DMR, with a better understanding of their movement behaviors and habitat usage in the Gulf of Maine and abroad.

Great job to the research team on board that night, Dr. Walt Golet (UMaine), John Carlucci (UMaine), and Matt Davis (MaineDMR), who were able to successfully tag this amazing animal!

All tagging efforts conform with state and federal permits and the University of Maine animal care protocols.

08/14/2026

Summer 2026 so far!

We have had such a great summer between attending TWO local Maine fishing tournaments, collecting biological samples from Atlantic bluefin tuna, and having so much fun!

08/13/2026

hey that’s us and the Maine Department of Marine Resources!!!🦈☀️

Scientists are trying to tag 75 sharks this season to collect data that will inform how a potential offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Maine will impact highly migratory species like sharks and tuna. FULL STORY ⬇️

08/12/2026

kinda chic to be the PFL
💁🏼‍♀️🎣🧬🦈

07/24/2026

Can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow!!!