Friends of Merrymeeting Bay to host Zoom event about Maine’s sea run fishes
The event will feature research biologists from the Department of Marine Resources.
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Friends of Merrymeeting Bay’s second presentation of their 24th annual Winter Speaker Series, Searching for Smelt: Citizen Science & Maine’s Sea Run Fishes, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, via Zoom. It will feature Claire Enterline and Danielle Frechette, research biologists with Maine’s Department of Marine Resources. This is the conservation organization’s second ever virtual meeting presentation.
According to a news release from the organization, just as serious cold bites Maine, and smelt camps finally hit the river ice, days are lengthening and it’s important to remember spring is just around the corner, and it’s not just mud season. Spring is when rainbow smelt swim up coastal streams to lay their eggs. These silvery little fish are important ecologically, economically, and culturally
Things are heating up January 29, 2021 on Editorials, Opinion
The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the warmest years on record in Maine and elsewhere around the country. It is part of a larger warming trend that has taken place over the last 10 years with record-breaking conditions giving way to extreme weather.
From droughts and wildfires in the western part of the country to extreme precipitation and the propensity for hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, the consequences of a changing climate are already here and foreshadow more to come.
Caribou since 2000 has experienced seven of its 10 warmest years on record. In November, the northern Maine city reached 75 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that not only shattered the previous daily high for November, but also rivaled normal July temperatures. Similarly, Portland also broke its own record 18 times last summer for daily high temperatures.
Food banks across the country are about to get shipments of fresh seafood
and last updated 2021-01-22 14:13:07-05
Food banks across the country are struggling to keep up with demand as more families are struggling financially because of the pandemic, but a new program is helping to get fresh seafood directly from the coast to families in need nationwide.
Dwayne Hopkins who oversees the South Portland Food cupboard in Portland, Maine has seen a dramatic increase in need over the last year. Since the pandemic began, they have been struggling to keep up with demand as families suddenly find themselves in a position where they can t afford food.
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Jim’s Camps on the Cathance River in Bowdoinham normally has camps on the river by mid-January but so far, there is still no ice. Here, his camps are seen on the river in 2018.
AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File
BOWDOINHAM Warmer than average temperatures this winter have left local smelt fishing businesses without ice, or customers.
“It’s definitely put a halt on my income,” said Jim McPherson, who has run his smelt camp business on the Cathance River in Bowdoinham for about 50 years. The winter was looking promising in December but the state was hit with rain and warm temperatures around Christmas this year that wiped out the snow and ice.
Trump signs Young Fishermen s Development Act into law
President Donald Trump signed into law on Tuesday an act created to help young fishermen break into an industry that has seen increased barriers to entry and an aging workforce.
The Young Fishermen s Development Act will establish $2,000,000 in yearly grant funding to support educational and training programs for young individuals who want to get into commercial fishing. Organizations at the federal, state and local level are eligible for funding.
Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren were co-sponsors of the legislation.
“While our fishing industry is a vital and historic part of Massachusetts’ coastal economy, we cannot let it become lost to history,” said Markey in an official statement. “This valuable program will help more young people push off the dock into new careers in the fishing industry, powering the economy and our local communities.”