ELLSWORTH — Christmas and New Year’s are now long past and spring seems a long way away, just the time to check up on how boats in storage are faring during their long winter naps. At the least, a timely mid-winter visit to the boatyard (or door yard) may go a long way toward ensuring …
FRANKLIN — Kingfish Zeeland, the Netherlands-based company that plans to build a land-based aquaculture facility in Jonesport to grow yellowtail, will work with the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research business incubator program to build its broodstock and scale its operations for eventual production at the company’s proposed aquaculture facility to be located …
AUGUSTA — Want to get rich quick, or at least have a chance to earn a nice piece of change? Last Thursday, the Department of Marine Resources opened a lottery that will give nine lucky winners the chance to apply for elver fishing licenses for the upcoming season. The lottery runs until 4:30 p.m. on …
ELLSWORTH — With Arctic temperatures chilling Maine, it’s difficult to focus on the state’s diverse fisheries. But in Augusta, the Marine Resources Committee had a wide range of proposed legislation scheduled for consideration this week. On Tuesday, the committee scheduled public hearings on two bills submitted on behalf of the Department of Marine Resources. The …
GOULDSBORO — The Gouldsboro Shellfish Conservation Committee has agreed to help a scientist study what he calls “a really interesting beast.” That beast is the arctic surf clam. Could it become a new source of income for clammers? Brian Beal, professor of marine biology at the University of Maine at Machias, wants to explore the …
GOULDSBORO — A local scientist says clam brushing isn’t any more effective in increasing soft-shell clam numbers than doing nothing. Clam brushing is the practice of standing cut spruce boughs in tidal areas to encourage clams to settle around the brush rather than being dispersed more widely by water currents. While clams do settle more …
BAR HARBOR — One of Maine’s largest mussel farms is applying to the Department of Marine Resources for a new aquaculture lease near Googins Ledge in the waters between the northern shore of Mount Desert Island and Lamoine State Park. In late December, Trenton-based Acadia Aqua Farms filed a preliminary application with DMR for a …
MEDDYBEMPS — Alewives and Atlantic salmon soon will have an easier time navigating the Dennys River and reaching Meddybemps Lake. On Monday, Jan. 6, the Downeast Salmon Federation began removing the remains of an unused hydroelectric station that prevents the fish from swimming upstream in the river to spawn. “The removal of this power station …
ELLSWORTH — It should come as no surprise to anyone who follows Maine’s fisheries that the state’s aquaculture industry is growing in value and number of producers. The U.S, Department of Agriculture 2018 Census of Aquaculture, released shortly before Christmas, paints a slightly different picture of the industry on a national basis. According to the …
ELLSWORTH — Nearly 10 months ago, Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher shocked Maine lobstermen with an announcement that the National Marine Fisheries Service had determined that right whale mortalities resulting from interactions with fishing gear would have to be reduced by 60 to 80 percent. In late spring, the fisheries service proposed rules …
ELLSWORTH — As in many segments of American life, social media is playing a role in rising tensions between Maine’s most traditional fishery and the state’s growing aquaculture industry. In recent months, a group called “Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage” has been active on Facebook, Instagram and other social media. The group identifies itself as an …
BAR HARBOR — When Ivan Andros of Lamoine found an old fiberglass boat on the side of the road marked “Free,” he knew just what to do with it. Andros picked the boat up and brought it in to school, where he and other students patched the cracks with fiberglass. The students are now working …
