February 26, 2024 — An orange sun exploded behind a tangle of blue clouds on Monday morning, silhouetting the stone beacon tower on Little Mark Island that once held supplies for shipwrecked sailors.
Lying roughly between Eagle and Bailey islands, the 197-year-old navigational aid is one of the final outposts guiding fishermen at the far reaches of Casco Bay.
But Kenny Blanchard and Josh Todd didn’t have time to admire the gorgeous sunrise, or contemplate the history of the 50-foot tower.
They were busy, on their hands and knees, picking scallops from a pile of seaweed and rocks on the heaving stern of a Chebeague Island fishing boat. A constant breeze made the 26-degree air feel even colder, and the rising winter sun radiated no extra warmth.
“This really isn’t too bad,” said 37-year-old Blanchard, steam following his voice into the air. “Sometimes it’s cold enough to get the deck all iced up — and it snows, too.”
Though often romanticized for tourists and marketing, there’s little glamor in the work of a Maine fisherman — especially in the dead of winter, when the state’s scalloping season takes place.
Worth about $9 million to Maine’s economy every year, it can be an important financial bridge for fishermen waiting out the slowest part of the lobstering season. Their fresh catch, known as “day boat scallops,” are prized and often sold directly to hungry locals. Those buyers are smart, knowing that scallops purchased at other times of the year have likely been soaked in preserving chemicals, which dilute the taste.