The National Organic Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released a report proposing organic standards for aquaculture. Seafood from certified aquaculture enterprises could be sold with the “USDA Organic” label, and products not meeting the national standard would be prohibited from sale with an organic label in the United States. The USDA
Lobster landings are down, but value is up
Preliminary information for 2005 Maine lobster landings show a total of 63 million pounds, down from 2004 when landings totaled 70.8 million pounds. The overall value set a record, however, reaching $289.7 million so far, up from the previous year’s $285 million, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Prices throughout the year were
Future Fisheries
Two stories this month describe research into new technologies for fishing and aquaculture. Catching cod in traps, as we report in this April web-issue, could be a way to greatly reduce bycatch and mortality in that fishery. Traps have been used for cod for generations in Newfoundland, of course, but this method may have wide
Lobster fishermen face new rope rules
Preliminary landings totals indicate last year’s Maine lobster landings were down by more than six million pounds. The good news is the overall price for the state’s most valuable seafood also reached an all-time high. Lower landings may not cause all Maine lobstermen to worry, but there are other areas of concern. One is a
Advice to Maine Shrimpers: “Follow the Farmers”
Maine shrimpers were granted a longer fishing season this year than they’ve had in several years, the stocks were plentiful and the shrimp were large and high-quality. A perfect year? Hardly. Markets were small, buyers were few and many fishermen earned as little as 25 cents a pound for their catch, when they could sell it at all. A
March Madness
Along the Maine coast, March madness for many people has more to do with fishing and boatbuilding than with who is playing whom in NCAA basketball. Each March, two large and increasingly significant events bring together large cross sections of Maine’s working waterfronts –the Fisherman’s Forum in Rockport and the Maine Boatbuilders Show in Portland.
Trapping Cod Technology shows promise, but could run afoul of whale regulations
The cod fishery may be going to pot. But in this case, it’s a good thing: at the March Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport, scientists and gear manufacturers unveiled experimental gear that could improve fishing, reduce bycatch and help conserve regional stocks, including a pot to catch codfish. Michael Pol, a biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries,
A Colorful History
Looking at Stonington today, it’s hard to imagine the town once had a population of 5,000. Stonington’s many granite quarries gave the town its name and drew skilled workers and their families from all over Europe, outnumbering the fishermen and theirs. Those granite workers needed recreation, and in 1893, amid the bars and brothels, hotels
Mabe’s: Seafood Dreams on the Internet
It’s the sort of place every tourist dreams of: the slightly funky, clean, down home, locally run small seafood restaurant that uses only the freshest, cooked to order Maine seafood, with a few specialties like seafood cakes and homemade biscuits and pies. Mabe’s Seafood Restaurant and Lobster Pound, located about halfway between Freeport and Brunswick
Stonington Opera House mounts varied year-round program
For the first time in years, the Stonington Opera House has been open all year long. That it has been able to do so speaks to the efforts of the last six years by the four theater professionals who bought the Opera House in 1999 and the non-profit organization they formed, Opera House Arts, which