Blog Entry

Maine oysters go wild – and stay wild.

Researchers (including Sea Grant extension associate Dana Morse) are studying isolated oyster grounds in the Sheepscot River that may date back to the last ice age. Meanwhile, as the aquaculture industry has grown and coastal water temperatures have warmed, cultured oysters have begun to multiply on their own elsewhere, particularly in the brackish waters of the […]

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What famous chefs do with Maine seafood

“There isn’t anything more special than Maine seafood,” said fisherman Kristan Porter, kicking off a culinary afternoon at the 2015 Maine Fishermen’s Forum. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Forum, seafood industry partners invited four established chefs to share their cooking knowledge of Maine seafood. “This is what its all about,” said Maine Aquaculture […]

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Black and white image of Robin Alden and unidentified man sitting at the Forum

40 Years of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum

by Catherine Schmitt Forty years ago,  fish harvested by Maine fishermen stayed local, only traveling perhaps as far as Boston or New York. The Gulf of Maine fishery was dominated by fleets of foreign fishing vessels, factories at sea that fished harder than anyone before. Even at Gorton’s in Gloucester, Massachusetts, 40% of the cod […]

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Maine Sea Grant just launched a new radio program!

by Catherine Schmitt Coastal Conversations is a monthly, one-hour public affairs program about coastal issues, on WERU Community Radio 89.9 in Blue Hill and 99.9 In Bangor. The first show aired on January 23, 2015 and the topic was Ocean Acidification. Listen to the podcast. Produced with support from Maine Sea Grant and hosted by […]

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Grand Manan, the Dulse Capital of the World

by Natalie Springuel Over the holidays this year, my family and I decided it was time for a trip beyond Downeast Maine. We crossed the border at Calais and drove on to Black’s Harbor, New Brunswick (Canada) to catch the ferry to Grand Manan, an island at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. I’d […]

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Sea Smoke

by Catherine Schmitt If the air is still and cold enough, great wisps of sea smoke hover and drift above the water surface. That “smoke” actually is water vapor that forms when really cold air moves over relatively warmer water and the thin boundary layer of warm air just above the surface. When the evaporating […]

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Maine Beaches Conference logo

Celebrating #10 – The 2015 Maine Beaches Conference

by Kristen Grant I would attend again because it is a treasure trove of important information for anyone who loves Maine Beaches or Maine in general. – a 2013 conference evaluator Back again for another encore performance is the 2015 Maine Beaches Conference, being held July 17, 2015 at Southern Maine Community College. The event started […]

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Homes for People Who Work in York

by Kristen Grant Design workshops that bring community stakeholders together with housing professionals are an annual event now in Maine. In October Maine Sea Grant partnered with the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast to host a workforce housing “charrette” (intensive design workshop) at a site off Route 1 near the Kittery border in […]

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A black boot on a mass of squid fingers on a rock.

Squid Fingers

by Catherine Schmitt While out on the Damariscotta River this morning in search of wild oysters at low tide (more on that story later), we came across this giant, gelatinous mass on the shore of Goose Ledge. None of us, not even the one who is on the water every day, had ever seen anything […]

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On Jellyfish

by Catherine Schmitt News media and Sea Grant’s coastal correspondents (a.k.a. the Marine Extension Team) have been reporting jellyfish sightings along the coast, from Casco Bay to Penobscot Bay to Frenchman Bay. I saw them, too—a parade of moon jellies moving up the Damariscotta River. The tide was going out and the jellies were coming in, […]

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