The Council will release the results of the Gulfwide cleanup later this year. The forum is funded by the Cabot Family Charitable Trust and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Sponsors of the forum include the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Collaboration of Community Foundations for the Gulf of Maine, Environment Canada, the Gulf of Maine Council, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Maine State Planning Office, Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, MIT Sea Grant, and the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine. Under the program, launched in 1991 by the Gulf of Maine Council, US and Canadian scientists analyze blue mussels that live in shallow coastal habitats throughout the Gulf in pristine to heavily populated areas, examining them for the presence of toxic contaminants including mercury, lead, and pesticides. The December Gulf of Maine Times will include a feature on the Gulfwatch program.
Ship strikes are currently the number one documented cause of right whale deaths.
The shipping industry, government, and environmental organizations are working to address the issue, but experts say more solutions are needed to prevent this threat to the endangered whale. Those participating in the forum also discussed how live organisms contained in ballast water brought from other ports could invade Gulf of Maine harbors, causing economic and environmental problems. On June 5, the Council Secretariat officially moved from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia. The Gulf of Maine Council is an international body brought together to foster cross-border cooperation among government, academic, and private groups on implementing sustainable management strategies for the Gulf, which extends from Cape Cod to the Bay of Fundy.