How Northeastern is helping shellfishers and diners of a New England speciality | Northeastern Global News
Editor’s note: This article features insights from the MBL’s Anne Giblin about the Plum Island Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research program.
It was a beautiful morning on the Parker River.
The sun peeked through the clouds from the previous weekend’s nor’easter, giving the golden marsh grasses an extra autumnal sheen.
Frenetic yellow-legged shorebirds took flight as the small boat navigated the curves of the meandering river, and even the looming Route One bridge could not mar the pastoral scene, as little traffic passed after the motor was cut and the boat drifted along the shoreline.
Unfortunately, Northeastern University graduate student Grace Abe was not exactly enjoying her surroundings. She had just sunk up to her knees in mud.
“I had it too easy with the first one,” Abe said, while prying a wooden box out of the mud.
The container that emerged was 1-foot-square and several-inches tall, made primarily of wood composite with a mesh screen on its top and landscaping fabric on its bottom.
It did not look too high-tech. In fact, it looked like it might contain a small pizza.