MACHIAS, Maine — Opposition to harvesting seaweed continues to grow among owners of Washington County shoreline property from Eastport to Steuben.
At last count the “Rockweed Registry” maintained by the Downeast Coastal Conservancy included 532 oceanfront properties in 12 communities, most fronting Cobscook Bay. Included are parcels whose owners who do not want commercial seaweed harvesters to cut rockweed in tidal areas that front their shorelines. Rockweed harvesting bans also extend to conservation area shorelines and those owned by local, state and federal governmental entities.
Rockweed makes up at least 90 percent of total seaweed landings in Maine. The other 10 percent includes red, green and brown algae, such as dulse; nori; Irish sea moss; sea lettuce and kelp. In 2011, harvesters cut an estimated 8.8 million pounds of rockweed in Maine that was shipped to processors to be dried, ground and sold as a food supplement and as a component of fertilizer and animal feed. Ten years earlier, the rockweed harvest was 4.7 million pounds.
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