by Catherine Schmitt Feeling the scallop season get a way from me, I’ve been in pursuit of fresh Placopectin magellenicus harvested from Maine waters by dayboat draggers and divers. But fresh, local seafood can be hard to find where I live in Bangor, within reach of the tide but 30+ miles from saltwater. Since I […]
Read more
Scallop season began on Sunday December 2 and runs through March 20. With new management measures in place, including closed areas, limited access to other areas, and reduced fishing days, the harvest may be lower this year and prices may be higher. Neither factor should be a deterrent to seeking out Maine scallops this season; […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmitt The symposium attracted an impressive media response, starting with the Associated Press (first at the CBS News website, and then a story from the conference about guessing the age of a lobster). Both WCSH6 and WGME covered it on their evening news, as did MPBN radio (including some more extensive interviews available online). […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmitt Today was the first full day of the American Lobster in a Changing Ecosystem: A US-Canada Science Symposium. More than 100 of the region’s top lobster scientists have gathered in Portland, Maine, to share their research. Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher in his welcome remarks reminded the scientists that […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmitt I recently spent a week on vacation touring the state of Alaska. My tour featured two days in Valdez, a fishing port which is also, as the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, an oil port. The port was the destination for the tanker Exxon Valdez, which ran aground on Bligh Reef and […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmitt After a hectic summer of coast-hopping, I finally found myself in Portland, where I’ve been wanting to check out the new Eventide Oyster Co. So I caught up with some good friends at the small, bright space on Middle Street next to Hugo’s Restaurant, of the same owners. Speaking of bright, that […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmit The Maine Lobster Festival is underway in Rockland, and there will be plenty of lobsters to go around—at an affordable price, too, given the recent surge in supply. Depending on who you are, the abundance of Maine lobster has been a. a concerning trend. b. a blessing. c. a curse. If you […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmitt Yesterday I joined my colleague Natalie Springuel and our partners in eastern Maine to officially launch the Downeast Fisheries Trail. The 45 sites on the trail, in Hancock and Washington counties, highlight the region’s maritime heritage. “Heritage” means more than just history. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, heritage means “something transmitted by or […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmitt There are fish in these rivers. In the Kennebec, the Penobscot, the rivers in between and either side, the alewives are running. I wrote a story about alewives for the May 2012 issue of Fishermen’s Voice, well before alewife season began. Now I want to see the fish. Yesterday I stopped by the […]
Read more
by Catherine Schmitt On a recent cloudy April afternoon, Jamie Johnson was up to his elbows in sole, black bass, and halibut. Johnson is a manager at Jess’s Market, a busy seafood supplier to the Midcoast region. Johnson married into this family fish market business, but his knife skills and product familiarity suggest he’s found […]
Read more