The Oystermen
Maineâs Damariscotta River is famous for its oysters, but to get them out of the water you need the right boat
Author:
Pim Van Hemmen
Maineâs Damariscotta River is famous for its oysters, but to get them out of the water you need the right boat
As we cast off from the dock in downtown Damariscotta, water pours out of Great Salt Bay, through the nearby reversing falls, and toward the Gulf of Maine, 12 miles away.
Smokey McKeen is at the helm of a 24-foot Carolina Skiff to take videographer Bob Krist and I down the Damariscotta River to see the Pemaquid Oyster Company’s harvesting operation in action. The boat is covered in a thin sheet of invisible ice, and to keep our rear ends from freezing on the fiberglass, we sit on our lifejackets. The air is 24 degrees Fahrenheit, but it’s the wind that’s daunting. It’s blowing hard out of the north and the windchill on the open boat is biting.
Coastal News Today | ME - State Aquaculture Program Faces Backlog, Funding Issues in 2021 coastalnewstoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from coastalnewstoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
State aquaculture program faces backlog, funding issues in 2021
ELLSWORTH Like nearly every facet of life, the pandemic has affected the state aquaculture industry, the Maine Aquaculture Advisory Council made clear in a virtual meeting on Dec. 7.
Aquaculture lease applications are backlogged because hearings stopped, which is “a huge concern for the aquaculture industry,” Council member Briana Warner said. In addition, 2021 funding for the state aquaculture program is unknown. Proposed legislation set for a vote in the 129th Legislature special session, after approval from the Marine Resources Committee, never happened when the Legislature did not reconvene.
“We have to start from scratch,” Department of Marine Resources Director of Policy Deirdre Gilbert said.