OFF HOG ISLAND, Maine — July 29, 2013 — Rockweed is one of the state’s most valuable marine resources, worth about $20 million a year. But the harvesting of it has become contentious, as businesses clash with critics who say stripping away the sea grass destroys the habitat of scores of marine animals, including periwinkles and fish such as rock gunnel and juvenile pollock.
Doug Wood has pulled all kinds of things from the Atlantic Ocean to earn a living. He has hauled lobster traps, trawled for shrimp, dived for urchins, and dragged for scallops — abandoning each when the market fell or fisheries were depleted. On a recent afternoon, he was at it again, this time on an 18-foot boat outfitted with a roaring machine that sucks seaweed from the sea, slices it into 7-inch strips, and spits the pieces into a huge netted bag.
Wood, 42, is pinning his fortunes on the ubiquitous olive-green sea grass — known as rockweed — that drapes coastlines from New England to Europe. The nutrient-rich kelp is coveted for use in fertilizer and animal feed. Wood also hopes it will help sustain a growing number of Maine seaweed harvesters for years to come.
“If we don’t have work for our children, they will go out of state,’’ said Wood, whose 11-year-old son, Luke, serves as a deckhand. “I believe in the product.”
Beyond the environmental arguments, there is debate about who actually owns the kelp, which clings to rocks in intertidal zones, areas that are submerged at high tide but exposed when the water ebbs.
“I’d rather see this natural thing left alone and undisturbed,” said Robert Alley, a lobsterman who lives on Beals Island in Northern Maine. “I’ve seen some places where [harvesters] have already been; they’ve raked the rocks and there is nothing left on them.”
To address complaints and questions about the taking of rockweed, Maine officials are working on a management proposal to submit to the Legislature early next year. The state Department of Marine Resources has organized a 13-member group of academics, business people, and conservationists charged with proposing regulations that could win widespread support.
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