The Downeast Fisheries Trail links forty-five sites of importance to Maine's fisheries, both historic and current.

New Trail Celebrates Maine’s Fisheries

6/20/2012 - The maritime heritage of Downeast Maine is celebrated and illustrated at forty-five locations in Hancock and Washington counties that are part of a new interpretive trail launched June 21. The trail recognizes the importance of fishing to Maine’s coastal communities. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the proportion of… SEE MORE
Jamie Johnson, manager at Jess's Market in Rockland, filets some fresh fish

Fish Market Focus: Jess’s Market, Rockland

4/24/2012 - On a recent cloudy April afternoon, Jamie Johnson was up to his elbows in sole, black bass, and halibut. Johnson is a manager at Jess’s Market in Rockland, a busy seafood supplier to the Midcoast region. Johnson married into this family fish market business, but his knife skills and product… SEE MORE
A close-up view of the elvers. Photo by Hannah Webber.

Maine’s “Glass Eel” Fishery Opens

3/22/2012 - Beginning today, March 22, the shores of Maine's tidal streams will become ragged with fyke nets, mesh mouths open wide to the sea, hoping to funnel migrating elvers into their holds. An elver is a baby American eel, Latin name Anguilla rostrata. They hatch somewhere in the Sargasso Sea near… SEE MORE
The new Maine Seafood Guide provides information on Maine seafood species, a guide to fishing methods and gear, and more.

New Maine Seafood Guide Debuts

3/21/2012 - I am delighted to announce the launch of the new Maine Seafood Guide, which provides information on Maine seafood species, a guide to fishing methods and gear, and more. This is the only Maine-specific reference for Maine seafood. I identified the need for such a resource while working on an… SEE MORE
Karen Constant, half of the Maine-ly Smoked Salmon Company.

Heading Down the Road to Delicious Coastal Adventures

2/21/2012 - Fresh Crabmeat. Live Lobster. Cherrystones, Mussels, Clams. The handmade signs that decorate the roadsides of downeast Maine are clues to the region’s seafood industry, an independent and enterpreneurial collage of individuals and families who dig for clams and worms, collect periwinkles, dredge for scallops, rake seaweed, trap lobsters and crabs,… SEE MORE
A freshly shucked sea scallop with roe. Photo by D. Morse/Maine Sea Grant.

Understanding the Science, Industry Behind Scallop Fishing

2/15/2012 - The nearshore sea scallop fishery in Maine state waters has fluctuated over the years and declined recently. Scallops still thrive in Cobscook Bay, where harvesters collected them by hand (SCUBA diving, hence the descriptor "diver-caught" or just "diver scallop”) and by dredge. Dredge and trawl are the primary methods of… SEE MORE
A plate of oysters at the Baird Symposium on Sustainable Seafood.

Oyster Farm, Oyster Bar: A Delectable RI Destination

2/3/2012 - At Matunuck Oyster Farm & Bar near Point Judith Harbor, veteran oysterman Perry Raso grows Eastern oysters in a saltwater lagoon behind the barrier of East Matunuck State Beach and the waves of Block Island Sound. A relentless educator who likes to share his story, Raso is also a determined,… SEE MORE
Oysters at the annual Pemaquid Oyster Festival, held on the last sunday in September.

Maine Oyster Country: Newcastle and Damariscotta

1/30/2012 - Oyster cultivation on the coast of Maine is on the increase, thanks to our clean, cold, salty, water. This water is full of nutrients, and it's part of what gives our oysters their delightfully distinctive taste. Maine oysters have their moment in the sun, literally, on the last Sunday in… SEE MORE