Dana Morse
Board MemberDana is the Senior Extension Program Manager, and the Aquaculture Lead for the Maine Sea Grant College Program, and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. His work as an ‘extension agent’ involves a mixture of educational programming, technology transfer and applied research. Most of his work in recent years focuses on equipment and operations for shellfish production, though his work has touched on culture of other marine organisms such as seaweeds and American eel. He has also been active in the intersection between commercial fishing and aquaculture, and in developing approaches that maximize the integration of these industries, toward the diversification of options for fishermen and the continued prosperity of Maine coastal communities. He serves as a technical resource for shellfish producers, fishermen, scientists, regulators and others, and serves also to communicate science-based information on marine issues to those stakeholders who need such information.
His educational background is a BS in Wildlife Management from UNH, and a MS in Fisheries Technology from URI, where his work was on fish behavior, trawl design and bycatch reduction. He’s worked for NOAA, for the states of NH and MA doing fisheries, aquaculture and wildlife work, sold aquaculture gear, worked as crew on an oyster farm, spent time fishing commercially for lobster and groundfish, bounced around the Bering Sea in a Korean processing boat, and had many late nights as a fish cutter and packer. He’s been on this present job for 24+ years, and enjoys it as much as his first day.