Chris off Cushing Island, Casco Bay during
IPSP sampling, 2009



Chris aboard MER's boat in Portland Harbor

OUR TEAM:
Christopher S. Heinig
President

Chris received a B.S. in Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from Nasson College, Springvale, Maine and now has over 33 years experience in applied marine research and resource management, more than 20 years of which have been devoted to marine environmental and resource assessment and impact mitigation planning and execution.  Most of his work since 1988 has focused on environmental impacts to benthic habitats and communities, including those resulting from organic loading associated with salmon aquaculture net-pen operation discharges and physical disturbances caused by dredging activities.  Over the past several years he has overseen numerous pre- and post-development projects conducted in support of permit applications for aquaculture leases, harbor development and maintenance, and liquefied natural gas nearshore and offshore terminal installations. These efforts have involved collection and interpretation of hydrodynamic, physical-chemical, and biological data related to eelgrass, ichthyoplankton, zooplankton, epibenthic and infaunal communities, and commercially important species. 

As a project leader, Chris has extensive project management experience and is recognized for his thoughtful and thorough approach to problem resolution.  Although most of his time is now devoted to project management, he has extensive experience in invertebrate taxonomic identification, data analysis, and has authored numerous technical and project reports for the private and public sectors.  Chris has also served as an expert witness on marine environmental impacts before the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) and in federal court.

Chris is fluent in Spanish, having been born in Puerto Rico, and also speaks French as a result of having worked for two years in Brittany, France and an additional two years in Morocco.

mer@maine.com