Downeast Institute Information

Downeast Institute is a non-profit marine research institute, education center and shellfish research and production hatchery. We serve as the Marine Science Field Station of the University of Maine at Machias. Located on Great Wass island in the town of Beals, we are the easternmost marine research facility in the United States. -Providing exceptional capacity for marine scientists and their teams with our rural coldwater location and state-of-the-art venue, including an ocean acidification laboratory and deep water access. - Enriching the education of youth, university students, and the visiting public with our ongoing science education programming and experiential classroom. -Culturing commercially important shellfish seed, restoring and creating economic opportunities for fishermen, aquaculturists, and other entrepreneurs throughout coastal Maine and beyond.