Saving Seafood

Exploring Atlantic Salmon’s Battle for Survival: A Story Map

May 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Wild Atlantic salmon stocks in the United States have declined significantly since the late 19th century. Historically, dams, overfishing, and pollution led to large declines in salmon abundance.

The Kennebec River, Androscoggin River, and Sheepscot Rivers of the Merrymeeting Bay region have a long history of human development. This story map tells the history of this area’s many dams and our restoration efforts to recover the populations of endangered Atlantic salmon.

salmon

Read the full release here

Get used to paying $20-plus for a lobster roll

May 8, 2017 — The market price for a lobster roll at Red’s Eats is $26.50, the highest it’s been in 79 years.

Yet tourists in line at the iconic lobster hut on the Sheepscot River this week didn’t blink. They came for a taste of Maine and were willing to pay for the experience. And they did, handsomely.

“The quantity and quality is well worth it,” said Jan Braida polishing off a roll with her husband Tony. The day before, these vacationing Ohioans spent $23.95 on a lobster roll in Kittery and say sampling Maine’s famed sandwich is the reason they are here.

The sky-high price of fresh lobster meat this spring sent a jolt through lobster roll purveyors such as Red’s and mobile eatery Bite into Maine in Greater Portland.

Deborah Gagnon, owner of Red’s Eats, is paying $45 a pound for fresh lobster meat. Other vendors have been quoted more than $50 for picked knuckles, tails and claws.

“When I was opening in April and heard the price, I was like ‘ohhhh, somebody hold me up,’” said Gagnon, whose signature overstuffed rolls deliver more than a typical lobster’s worth of meat. Despite the increase, she’s not prepared to skimp. “No matter how high the lobster price is, I have to have it. Visitors all over the world come here. If we don’t have it, it’s like ‘what the heck?,’” she said.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Ruling soon on how many scallops Mainers can catch this year

October 18th, 2016 — State regulators will make a decision soon about the scope of this year’s Maine scallop fishing season.

Maine scallops are popular in the seafood world because of how big and meaty some of them grow. The scallop fishery has been relatively stable in recent years, with prices high and volume of catch holding around 300,000 to 600,000 pounds of meat per year.

The state has proposed that fishermen be allowed to catch about the same amount of scallops this coming winter as they did in the previous fishing year. The state also wants to close several scallop fishing areas, including the Sheepscot River and Muscongus Bay.

The proposal was the subject of public hearings, and public comment closed on Oct. 12.

 The fishing season runs December to April.

 Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald 

Maine putting scallop fishing rules in front of harvesters

September 14, 2016 — MACHIAS, Maine — Maine fishing regulators are asking scallop fishermen to comment on the state’s planned rules for the upcoming harvesting season.

The state is proposing that fishermen be allowed to catch about the same amount of scallops this coming winter as they did this past year. The state is also proposing closures of several scallop fishing areas, including the Sheepscot River and Muscongus Bay.

The state Department of Marine Resources is holding a public hearing on the plans on Wednesday in Machias. Another is scheduled for Wiscasset on Sept. 19. The department also held a hearing in Ellsworth on Monday night.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Daily Progress