— 2004 Season — Machias Seal Island lies along the Maine and New Brunswick border and is the largest tern and alcid colony in the Gulf of Maine. The island is censussed every two years for nesting seabirds. The most recent survey in 2004, documented 2,158 Arctic and 1,006 Common Tern nests, at least 3,500 pairs of Atlantic Puffin, 560 pairs of Razorbills, and 136 pairs of Common Eider. The Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network has been conducting seabird research on Machias Seal since 1995. Numerous graduate projects have been conducted on the island, including projects which have focused on surveying methodology for Razorbills, use of seabirds as indicators of the commercial herring fishery, time activity budgets for terns, and an Arctic Tern metapopulation study. Several commercial tourboat operators visit the island and bring a limited number of tourists ashore. A series of blinds are provided for the visitors to observe the nesting birds, and are used by researchers to monitor the colony when visitors are not present. The ownership of the island is disputed between the United States and Canada. According to Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service owns the island. According to the United States, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife owns the island. The Service has a Memorandum of Understanding with MDIFW to manage the island. |