Maine Fisheries Program Complex Outreach Coordinator Peter Steenstra recently attended the Gulf of Maine Summit in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, along with many other representatives of numerous participating agencies and organizations. The Summit addressed the quality of the Gulf of Maine and its watershed in three focus areas -- land use, contaminants and fisheries.

Data regarding the state of those issues were collected from local forums held over the past two years in seventeen regional sub-watersheds around the Gulf, and brought to the Summit by their representatives. Assessment data will be compiled in a Summit report and distributed for use by community decision-makers throughout the Gulf of Maine watershed region.

The Summit was attended by many private organizations, groups and companies from around the Gulf. Besides the US Fish and Wildlife Service, attending agencies included the Canadian Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, NOAA Fisheries, Environment Canada, the Maine State Planning Office, the States of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and the Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The next Gulf of Maine Summit will be held within three years.