Maine’s Growing Oyster Industry

The Press Herald has published an article on Maine’s oyster aquaculture industry.

Now new farmers trying their hand at growing oysters have moved outside the Damariscotta River – farms small and large can be found along the entire coast, from the Piscataqua River in Eliot to Little Machias Bay in Cutler. Pushing the expansion is demand. Oyster landings have increased 254 percent and the harvest’s value has grown about 300 percent since 2011, state records show.

Resurgence of River Herring

Here’s some wonderful news about the resurgence of river herring in Maine rivers and its potential to positively impact stocks of cod, halibut and other species.

With nearly 3.8 million fish counted at its fish passages this year, the Kennebec is now home to one of the largest river herring runs in North America, and Maine is likely to become the two species’ worldwide epicenter as the herring colonize newly opened habitat. The Penobscot saw 1.9 million, on par with last year, while the St. Croix’s 158,000-fish run was the largest in two decades.

The Price of Lobster

Close on the heels of the BDN’s article on this topic earlier this week, the Press Herald has published an article about the price of lobster meat.

Wintry weather and a cool spring have limited supply, as lobsters have stayed put offshore and lobstermen have stayed home, waiting for the lobsters to migrate closer to shore with warmer water. Add in the international competition for Maine lobster in Europe and Asia, and lobster prices are becoming harder than ever to predict.

Price of Lobster

The Bangor Daily News has published an article on the price of lobster.

In the U.S., Maine constitutes 80 percent of lobster landings. Last year the state landed 130 million pounds of lobsters. Some stay here, but increasingly a great deal are exported abroad.

That means family-run businesses like Red’s Eats compete for price, not just with the lobster stand one bridge over, but with their counterparts in China.

Nonesuch Oyster Tour

The Blueberry Files has published a report on the Nonesuch Oyster Tour.

Last month a friend of mine came to visit Maine, and we used that as an excuse to check out the Nonesuch Oyster aquaculture tours that owner Abigail Carroll has started offering. Carroll’s farm is located in the Nonesuch River off of scenic Pine Point in Scarborough. Her oysters can be found occasionally on Portland raw bar menus and at Harbor Fish Market. They’re characterized by their green shells and grassy flavors, which we learned all about why that is on our afternoon tour.

You can sign-up for a Nonesuch touch on Eventbrite.

Maine Eel Aquaculture

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article about Sara Rademaker and the interesting work she’s doing to develop a Maine-based eel fishery.

Three years ago she began studying European and Asian systems for growing elvers into eels in contained areas, asking herself the question, why not here in Maine, the biggest source of American baby glass eels in the country?

Although she’s just starting her third year developing her eel aquaculture system, she’s gearing up to bring her first eels to market this summer, with plans to tap into the local sushi market to begin with.

Climate Change Hampering Cod Recovery

An article by GMRI scientist in the journal Science concludes that climate change driven warming in the Gulf of Maine is largely responsible for the species failure to recover, reports the Press Herald.

The study by Andrew Pershing, chief science officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and 11 colleagues from that and three other research institutions found that warming-related stresses accounted for much of the discrepancy between what managers thought would happen to the stock and what actually occurred. The study was published Thursday in the journal Science.

Here’s a link to the study.