As you navigate through the shoals of daily discourse in our travels along the coast and islands of Maine, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on the weather with its always interesting and often confusing patterns. That means knowing something about what is likely to be happening on a day to
Fathoming: Tiny plankton, big problems
This article is made possible, in part, by funds from Maine Sea Grant and the Oak Foundation. Summer is just around the corner, and that has clammers, shellfish growers and seafood-shack proprietors worried about red tide. Meanwhile, offshore in the Gulf of Maine, teams of scientists are working around the clock, collecting water samples from
Land trust focuses on water quality
The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is heading in an unusual direction. This year, the staff has created a new focus for the organization by choosing water quality as the theme for the year’s activities. The group was inspired to take on the study of water quality in the estuary, and therefore, of the entire Kennebec
Summer of tears: A fisherman’s reaction to the Gulf oil spill
The boat ride out, from Lafitte, Louisiana on Sunday, May 23 2010 to our fishing grounds was not unlike any other I have taken in my life as a commercial fisherman from this area. I have made the trip thousands of times in my 35-plus years shrimping and crabbing. A warm breeze in my face,
Matinicus lobstermen launch eco-friendly company
Jarod Bray wants customers to buy his lobsters and save the world. Bray, age 25, and his father, Joe, fish the waters surrounding Matinicus. They launched Eco Lobster Catch in November. “It seems like our whole county is going green. I wanted to push the envelope,” said Bray. He said Eco Lobster Catch makes lobstering
Cod Academy opens doors
Coverage of Washington County is made possible by a grant from the Eaton Foundation. After more than a year of planning and lengthy application procedures, the Maine Aquaculture Association has received federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aquaculture program and the agency’s northeast regional office for a new program, Cod Farming for
Groundfishing under a new management system
Groundfishermen in Maine are fishing under a new management system, and no one is sure how the fish stocks, or the fishermen, are going to react. Under the new system, called “sectors” (see sidebar “What is a sector?”), fishermen can choose to opt into a sector with other like-minded fishermen in order to work together
We are all in this together
Fishermen are no longer able to catch more fish to make more money. The only way for them to earn more, is for them to be paid more for their fish. New England’s groundfishermen are now fishing under the most sustainable management system yet devised. While this is a step forward in the effort to
What is a sector?
The new fisheries-management system for New England officially began May 1. Roughly 800 of the eligible vessels, representing about 98 percent of the groundfish landings in recent years, have joined one of 19 sectors. Fishermen who have not opted into a sector will continue to fish under the days-at-sea effort-control management system. A sector is
Headed East: Roger F. Duncan 1917-2010
Guidebook writers have something in common with composers of music: their work, if it’s good enough, is destined to be heard aloud. Roger F. Duncan, who died May 15, will forever be identified with The Cruising Guide to the New England Coast-and I suspect that generations of cruising sailors will recall hearing Roger’s words read