MOUNT DESERT ROCK
By Jamie Fogg-2024 Research Assistant Intern
The genesis of my love for marine biology began on a remote, treeless island 25 nautical miles off the coast of Maine. Mount Desert Rock, teeming with life and history, sparked a passionate interest in a seventeen-year-old.
Edward McCormick Blair Marine Research Station & Mount Desert Rock Light Station (Photo: J.Taylor/BHWW Co.)
Stepping off the Osprey, I reached for the captain’s hand for stability as my boots hit the slick, algae-covered granite. The salty air filled my senses, and I thought, “This is exactly where I am meant to be.” My high school field biology class and I were staying on Mount Desert Rock, a marine research station owned by the College of the Atlantic, for a week to develop and conduct our own research. I focused on analyzing the wound rates of seals on the island. To my surprise, I found that 14% of their wounds were human-inflicted, despite their isolation from civilization. The potential impact of my work through policy and education motivated my pursuit of marine science.
My name is Jamie Fogg, and I am one of four research assistants collaborating with Allied Whale and Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company this season. After my experience at Mount Desert Rock in high school, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to protecting the ocean, its inhabitants, and those who rely on it for their livelihood.
Three years later, I yearned to return to “The Rock” and continue my marine mammal research. My summer position as a Research Assistant has allowed me to do this and much more.
Jamie (looking through binoculars) with the rest of the Mount Desert Rock Crew (Photo: J.Taylor/BHWW Co.)
When I am not collecting behavioral and identification data on whale watches or working in the Allied Whale office on data entry and marine mammal response, I am immersed in a lush marine environment on the most remote lighthouse in New England.
With the support of the College of the Atlantic, The Rock is fully student-led. During the summer, a dedicated group of student researchers studies a variety of topics and species, including seals, copepods, and herring gulls. While my fellow Research Assistants and I are on The Rock, we develop a gray and harbor seal photo identification catalog, continue to assess the wounded seal population, and report marine mammal sightings to Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company.
This internship with Allied Whale and Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company has expanded my knowledge of the local environment, refined my research methods, and allowed me to further explore my passions for education and marine mammal science.
Mount Desert Rock with Mount Desert Island in the distance (Photo: Allied Whale)
Jamie highlights the many unique opportunities of the co-sponsored internship with Allied Whale and the College of the Atlantic. As a native Mainer, she participated while studying marine biology at the University of Maine. The internship provides current college students and recent graduates summer and full season positions working on the whale watch, on Mount Desert Rock, and at the lab based on the College of the Atlantic campus. If you would like to learn more about the program, check out Allied Whale at the College of the Atlantic or email Internship Coordinator, Hedda Samuelson at: alliedwhale.internships@gmail.com
When you book a boat cruise with Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company, you are supporting internship and research opportunities that help to protect marine life in the Gulf of Maine.