BOOTHBAY HARBOR – Spencer Apollonio died suddenly on March 8, 2022 at his home in Boothbay Harbor at the age of 88. He was born in Camden to parents, Dr. Howard L. and Helen T. (Martin) Apollonio.

He lived a full life pursuing and encouraging marine research, arctic exploration, and sailing his traditional wooden sloop up the coast of Maine. His stories ranged from being dented under his canvas kayak by an unknown mammal in the Arctic Ocean while collecting water samples, to his snowmobile falling through the ice, being picked up by his local Inuit guide and brought back with success at camp.

A marine biologist and member of the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA), Spencer has made 14 trips to the Arctic. In the 1960s he established the AINA’s Devon Island Research Station. His research was among the first of its kind in the Arctic and is now receiving renewed attention. Until the day of his death, he was collaborating on papers with scientists at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, which he helped establish in 1974.

Spencer has served as commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), chairman of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and executive director of the New England Regional Fisheries Management Board. He began his career researching shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and other marine species, and later focused on fisheries management in the Gulf of Maine. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he earned a master’s degree from Yale University. He was an avid reader with an impressive collection of books.

He is the author of several books ranging from historical non-fiction to marine fisheries management, countless research papers, a novel, and very special birthday cards that his three granddaughters cherish.

Spencer is survived by his wife Annemarie; sons Tom and Taylor; granddaughters Katelyn, Megan and Stella; brothers Howard and Nick and their families. He was predeceased by his parents and his brother Carl.

Hall’s of Boothbay is handling the arrangements. To offer your condolences online, please visit hallfuneralhomes.com

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