The water quality is good overall, but near coastal areas it is quickly degrading because of nitrogen overload and acidification, a decade of data shows. By Matt Byrne, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Casco Bay is healthy, but water quality near coastal areas and estuaries is rapidly degrading because of man-made pollution, according Read More
lobster
Latest Dispute Over Alewives in St. Croix River May Lead to Independent Review
The LePage administration is proposing a working group to examine the scientific arguments over the fish. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — The LePage administration wants to create a working group to examine the scientific arguments over alewives in the St. Croix River as a way to defuse the Read More
Warming Climate Spells Disaster for Gulf of Maine Fisheries, Unless We Act
By Edward Reiner, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed For 13 years I was a lobsterman from Cliff Island. Lobstermen are close observers of the natural world. When you climb into your boat each morning you are a witness to wildness and beauty. But that is half the story. We have worry and Read More
Pingree Presses for Ocean Acidification Study
The Maine 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree says some Maine fisheries are already threatened by ocean acidification, caused by excessive amounts of carbon in the atmosphere. MPBN news story Maine U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree has introduced legislation that would require federal officials to study the effects of ocean acidification on coastal communities in Maine and Read More
My Maine This Week: Sue Nelson
South Harpswell sunrise on May 14th. These are third-generation fisherman Adam Leclair’s buoys. – Photo by Sue Nelson of Harpswell, Maine To see past My Maine This Week photos, or to submit a photo of your own to be featured on our website, please visit www.nrcm.org/our-maine/my-maine-this-week.
NRCM Comments on Dragon Products Company New Source Review for Mercury
My name is Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Department of Environmental Protection’s (“Department”) draft findings and order for mercury emission limits for Dragon Products (license A-326-77-3-A.) NRCM opposes the proposed mercury emissions limit of 42 lbs/year because it could lead Read More
As the Ocean Gets Warmer, Are the Lobsters Heading to Cooler Northeastern Waters?
Bangor Daily News new story by Abigail Curtis, BDN staff writer ROCKPORT, Maine — In the ocean off Rhode Island, fisherman Rodney Sykes has noticed far fewer cold-water species like lobster and more warm-water species like mahi-mahi and electric rays cruise by his boat in recent summers. “ There’s been an awful lot of changes,” Read More
State Plan Changes after Delay in Reporting Mercury in Lobster
Portland Press Herald news story by Scott Dolan, staff writer State Toxicologist Andrew Smith received an urgent message in 2011: A team of independent scientists had discovered dangerously high levels of mercury in black ducks in a marsh near the mouth of the Penobscot River. But what Smith didn’t know was that the same scientists had previously Read More
Contamination of Maine Lobster Shows Value of Regulations
Kennebec Journal editorial The lobster fishery has been the one bright spot in Maine’s seafood industry for years — at least until last week. On Feb. 18, the state Department of Marine Resources ordered a two-year shutdown of lobster and crab harvesting in a 7-square-mile region at the mouth of the Penobscot River. Mercury contamination Read More