“It’s the town’s science experiment,” says Lili Liu, owner of Gurnet Village, the host site of the town of Brunswick’s new float designed to grow baby quahog (hard shell clams). “That’s how we explain it to our guests,” she adds, referring to the guests that stay at their rental property, which sits right on the Gurnet straight between Brunswick and Harpswell. The float housing the “science experiment” holds a series of bags and totes full of baby quahog clams that receive a constant flow of water thanks to a series of pumps called an upweller. The town of Brunswick, with help from several funding sources, was able to get this float in the water and up and running this past July as part of its efforts to bolster the local quahog resource.

The town of Brunswick has one of the most productive shellfish resources in the state. However, like in many other towns in Maine, that resource has faced some major challenges. Green crabs, an invasive species, munched through the shells of soft shell clams and snipped off the eelgrass that helps keep the intertidal waters clean and clear. In addition, shifts in water temperatures have led to declines in shellfish populations. While soft shell clams have historically been the predominant species harvested, both predation and climate change have resulted in a shift towards a growing quahog, or hard shell clam, population. With that shift comes an increased interest from the local harvesters and the town in ensuring the health of that population as well as finding ways to help grow it. The purchase and installation of the upweller is part of this plan. The upweller allows the baby quahogs to grow to a size where they are more likely to survive once “planted” in the mud. Then, the hope is that they will grow to maturity and can be harvested by local diggers. The maintenance and tending of the whole operation is a partnership between the town and the local harvesters, who can volunteer their time on a weekly basis and, in turn, earn conservation credits, which are required to maintain their local shellfishing license.

The upweller isn’t the only piece of working waterfront at the Gurnet property, however. Lili and her husband, Blake, bought the property in 2018 and have upgraded it in many ways. While many of the improvements were to the interior structures, one of the most interesting updates was the addition of an outhouse. This isn’t for guests but rather for the fishermen and harvesters that land at the wharf there. Gurnet Village is a unique example of a property that combines tourism and working waterfront in a way that is designed to accommodate and celebrate both. They’ve even hosted waterfront tourism events like Open Farm Day earlier this summer where people could paddle from their property to oyster farms around the bay as well as buy oysters directly from the wharf.

Historically, the property belonged to the Coffin family and has always had a working wharf where fishermen could land. Today, Clarence Coffin regularly operates his lobster boat out of the Gurnet wharf, sometimes selling his catch directly to the Gurnet guests. Ferda Farms, a local aquaculture company, also operates out of the Gurnet property and offers their oysters directly to guests as well as sells to wholesalers that can pick up right from the wharf. In addition to the outhouse, one of the critical components of this small working waterfront is parking. Parking is a consistent challenge along the waterfront, particularly for those who need to access it for their business. Blake and Lili have set aside the lower parking lot adjacent to the wharf exclusively for those working on the waterfront. The space even allows for larger trucks to pick up catch and deliver supplies.

As for what lies ahead for the family, as well as for the town’s science experiment, Blake and Lili hope to install a hoist so that seaweed farmers can operate there. They’d also like to repair the old ramp to make room for processing of products on-site. For now, the baby quahogs will continue to grow over the summer months until the winter, when the float will be removed and the quahogs stored to overwinter. In the meantime, however, boaters around the Gurnet straights are asked to please slow down as they come under the bridge and by the float, in order not to create too much wake and shake up the delicate baby shellfish. The town has put up some “No Wake” signs to alert boaters, but many may not be aware of the important reason for doing so. If all goes well, the “experiment” will produce a new crop of quahogs that will help to rebuild our local shellfish resource and provide economic opportunities and benefits to our local economy.

Susan Olcott is director of strategic initiatives for Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.