On June 30, the state Senate voted to enact the compromise that had emerged out of the committee, melding a bill from local state Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) with one backed by Mills’ office.
Now that they have released a new biological opinion, federal fisheries managers are asking a federal court to end ongoing litigation over the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
“The more legs you stand on, the more likely you’ll be successful.”
The Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral Protection Area will be a 31-square-mile protected zone about 25 miles southeast of the island, with the same restrictions as Mount Desert Rock.
At each site, seawater would be pumped up into the pens from an ocean depth of 100 feet. Oxygen is constantly added to the inflowing water. Fish waste is continuously pumped up, filtered and compacted for transport to the mainland. Shipped from Searsport, low-sulfur marine oil would power the sites although solar energy options are being explored. Running 356 days a year, the sites would burn over 1 million gallons of diesel fuel annually.
In Jonesport, Kingfish Maine plans to use the same advanced technology to minimize impacts of effluent. The just approved DEP permit assessed the facility’s discharge plan to ensure that the area’s water quality will be maintained both at the discharge point as well as in the make-up of the effluent water.
As in previous meetings, both sides agreed to share techniques and solutions to keep the fishery healthy, reduce the risk of entanglements and create whale-safe maritime practices. The two countries also provided updates on current and future risk reduction measures.
Thirty-seven boats from across the region showed up, about half of what the race has boasted in the past. Some only had to travel from their mooring in Bernard to the starting line but others came from locales such as Prospect Harbor, Stonington, Beals, Searsport, Milbridge, Corea and Islesford.
BUCKSPORT — For the first time in 40 years, tall ships and schooners will sail the waters of the Penobscot River to celebrate the state’s bicentennial, which was in 2020. In July, several historic vessels will visit ports in the lower Penobscot River basin to honor Maine’s rich maritime past. Anchors will be in Bucksport, …
“I was worried that there wasn’t going to be any wholesale market here last year,” said Joanna Fogg, the owner of Bar Harbor Oyster Co. Since she started selling her oysters in 2017, Fogg has been able to sell out every year. Last year was tough at the start, but she was able to make it through OK, with the pandemic more postponing her season than scrapping it entirely.
Maine Coast Heritage Trust is embarking on a project to help smooth over the two rough patches in the journey to restore the fishway and get alewives back into the pond to spawn.
The compromise would install a permanent ban on wind energy development in state waters and give the fishing industry a seat at the table on any federal projects that want to connect to land through the state’s jurisdiction.
