TRENTON — A plan to raise oysters on a five-acre site in Goose Cove, west of Haynes Point in Western Bay, raised little concern and no opposition at what was scheduled as a Department of Marine Resources aquaculture “scoping session” in Trenton. Brian Harvey of Glenburn filed an application with DMR for a 20-year aquaculture …
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee is considering legislation that would change the membership of the Department of Marine Resources’ Shellfish Advisory Committee. The bill, LD 1906, was introduced by Rep. Will Tuell (R-East Machias) on behalf of DMR. In testimony before the committee late last month, Deirdre Gilbert, director of state marine policy …
BAR HARBOR — For a few years now, members of the town’s Marine Resources Committee have felt “like border collies running out of sheep” to protect, says Scott Swann, who chairs the committee. Their job is to protect the town’s clam flats for recreational clammers and the handful of folks who make part of their …
ELLSWORTH — Already battered by the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, the market for lobsters took another hit last month as the Chinese New Year festivals celebrating the Year of the Rat were tempered by the more or less simultaneous onset of the year of the coronavirus. The start of the …
ELLSWORTH — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service will hold off on announcing new rules aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales from entanglement with fishing gear, including Maine lobster fishing gear, until at least July. The agency, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), had been expected to release proposed …
BAR HARBOR — Lobster fishermen in Zone B voiced concerns on Jan. 15 about losing traps, among other issues, if they adhere to recently proposed whale-protection rule changes presented by the Department of Marine Resources (DMR). The changes are intended to reduce incidents of right whales becoming entangled in trap lines. More than 40 fishermen …
BAR HARBOR — A proposed new 48-acre aquaculture lease in Frenchman Bay between Salsbury Cove and Lamoine Beach would be an experiment in adapting to changing environmental conditions, according to the owners of the Trenton-based family business proposing it. Acadia Aqua Farms is owned by Theo and Fiona de Koning of Bar Harbor. Their sons …
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 …
