Hundreds of Maine residents and summer tourists flock to the annual Downeast Institute (DEI) Field Day where they can walk through the institute’s almost 10,000 square-foot facility and talk to staff about the research going on at the institute. This event always makes a lasting impression and gives event goers the opportunity to learn about DEI's mission of the preservation and conservation of shellfish, and even encouraging many of them to study marine life.

Attendees to the Field Day on August 8 will experience looking at sea life up close while also enjoying music, food, and other entertainment.

The Downeast Institute is a research and education facility with more than 2,000 feet of deep water frontage, a research shellfish hatchery and a running seawater laboratory. Staff use the DEI building to raise juvenile shellfish such as lobsters, clams, oysters and scallops, and the institute’s research is focused on developing new ways to grow and harvest the different species.

Since 1987, the Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education has worked with fishermen to enhance populations of marine species that is integral to sustaining the Downeast Maine economy. For more information on this year's Field Day and the Downeast Institute, please visit downeastinstitute.org.