Saving Seafood

Concert Held on Water to Help Maine Fisherman Who Still Need Your Help

August 4, 2020 — Last Sunday, a concert fundraiser was held off the coast of Chebeauge Island to help raise money for lobstermen that are suffering due to the pandemic according to newscentermaine.com. Brilliant idea really, a concert held on the water to maintain social distancing. Fishing for lobster is not just a job, it’s a calling for many Maine residents. It’s a way of life for many families in the area.  With restaurants closed and restrictions put on imports, the lobstermen and their families are suffering greatly during this pandemic.  Some are not even fishing at this time. Others are working hard only to see the prices for lobster fall so low that it cost more to go get the lobster than saying home.

Crystal Canney is with the Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation and tells newscentermaine.com that fishing for lobster in Maine is ‘iconic’ and a large part of the state’s economy. Fishing is not just a job for these families; it is a way of life.  One lobsterman at the concert told newscentermaine.com “Price is down but the industry pulling together to pull through it.  It’s what the coast of Maine does.” I must admit, there are so tough, yet supportive people in Maine.

Read the full story at WOKQ

Why some Maine coastal communities are up in arms about aquaculture

December 10, 2018 — From oyster farms to cultivated seaweed and farm-raised salmon, aquaculture is often described as essential to the economic future of Maine’s fisheries in the face of a changing ecosystem. Warming waters from climate change are pushing lobster farther Down East and have shut down the shrimp fishery, and threats such as ocean acidification and invasive green crabs are harming Maine’s natural fisheries.

But opposition to several proposed projects suggests the hardest part of getting into aquaculture might be getting past the neighbors. All along the coast, neighbors argue that pending aquaculture ventures will create too much noise, use too much energy, attract too many birds and obstruct their opportunities for boating or lobstering. One questioned whether an oyster farm would make it hard for deer to swim from one point of land to another.

In Belfast, abutters to the land where Nordic Aquafarms hopes to put in a giant land-based farm to raise salmon have filed a lawsuit against the city, which they say hastily and secretly approved a zoning change the company needed to move forward.

In Brunswick, opponents of a proposed 40-acre oyster farm have hired not just attorneys, but a public relations expert, Crystal Canney, in the hopes of persuading the Department of Marine Resources not to approve the lease.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald