Coastal Conversations | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel In 2020, the soft-shell clam fishery was the second highest value commercial fishery in Maine, netting over $15 million in revenue, yet there is not broad awareness about what it takes to dig clams and bring them to the market. During this event we will learn from harvesters, shellfish buyers, retailers, and others in the supply chain about shellfish markets, chall...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Mainer Fishermen’s Forum Shellfish Day #2: What’s Changing on the Mudflats Harvester insights about the status of shellfish in their community; New shellfish survey techniques that use local ecological knowledge and mapping; Development of a standard protocol for an ecosystem survey in the intertidal that incorporates predators; The feasibility of using...

-We talk with harvesters, wardens, marine resource committee members, and residents in Gouldsboro, Harpswell, and Brunswick, about their work restoring shellfish populations and intertidal mudflats to protect the future of shellfish harvesting as a livelihood. -Methods to grow shellfish (including upwellers and floating nurseries deployed in the water, and a new learning lab dedicated to growing s...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Production assistance from Ela Keegan Seaweed has always been an important species in Maine’s coastal ecosystems. Maine gardeners have for generations used seaweed to enhance their soil. But in the last decade or so, seaweed is finding a new role in our coastal communities. Both wild harvested and farmed seaweed are becoming important resources for people working a...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel For our December 25, 2020 show, we are talking about Maine seafood for the holidays! Our regular Coastal Conversations host Natalie Springuel teamed up with Sea Grant colleagues Dana Morse and Heather Sadusky, to celebrate Maine seafood traditions and feature seafood recipes you might like to try this holiday season! Our guests include oyster, mussel and salmon gro...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Introducing a new major lobster research program, the American Lobster Initiative, that seeks to answer important questions about lobster biology and ecology. How do changes occurring in the marine environment, such as the warming Gulf of Maine, affect lobster reproduction and population? How do environmental changes affect larval transport, predation, and settleme...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Tell us about your work related to Maine’s geological, cultural, and natural-resource based heritage. How are people in Maine’s coastal communities documenting, celebrating and protecting Maine’s heritage? Two initiatives are under way to give the Downeast region special designations as a) a Natural Heritage Area and b) a Coastal Geopark. What are...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel What was commercial fishing, and especially the salt cod fishery, like in the nineteenth century? What is the field of historical marine ecology and what can it tell us about Maine’s fisheries past, both socially and ecologically? What have you learned from the nineteenth century vessel log books, which captains filled out in order to claim their saltcod bounty pay...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Sardine canneries created jobs for generations of Mainers living near the coast for more than one hundred years, and cultivated values centered on hard, honest work and community. Sardines gave many Mainers an income during the Great Depression, presented opportunities for women to enter the workforce, and ingrained life-long bonds and stories in Maine communities...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel -Differences in fisheries management in Maine vs PEI. -How and why these women got into fishing? -What and who inspired them and mentored them in their fishing careers? -What does being a woman bring to the job? -What do they love about fishing? -What do they recommend to other women who want to go fishing? Guests: Marlene Chapman, homeport Murray Harbor, Prince Ed...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel -Oral histories collection from the 1970’s called Life of the Maine Lobsterman, housed at University of Maine Fogler Library Special collections. -Three multi-hour interviews, condensed to 12-20 minute clips with the highlights. -Tribute to Andrew Gove, a lifelong lobsterman from Stonington who passed away the weekend of June 20, 2020. Featuring: Edwin Lawson...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Did you know that Downeast Maine is home to some of the very best fish habitat along the entire eastern seaboard of the United States! This month’s episode of Coastal Conversation is Salters and Salmon, a conversation about Sea-run Brook Trout and Atlantic Salmon! We talk fisheries biology, conservation history and fishing stories with Rob Packie, President o...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel As global and national seafood markets shut down, the demand for local Maine seafood by residents is on the rise. How does the seafood supply chain work and how do disruptions affect it. What support is available for fishermen and aquaculture farmers to help their businesses survive during the pandemic. How can local consumers access local seafood? Guests: Joanna F...

Guest Producer/Host: Catherine Schmitt Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Key Discussion Points: a) bringing young people into nature for studies that have implications for their families and communities makes science relevant and real. b) schools provide research capacity in rural communities c) outdoor classrooms have lifelong impacts. Guests: Bill Zoellick, Schoodic Institute Education Director Emerit...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, substitute for Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Key Discussion Points: What is University of Maine Sea Grant, and its role with Alliance for Maine’s Marine Economy? What is the purpose of the Alliance, how is it funded and how does it make strategic investments What is the current status of the marine economy and challenges— how the Alliance is helping...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Ascophyllum Nodosum, more commonly known as rockweed, is that ubiquitous brown seaweed that coats much of the shoreline between high and low tide. Rockweed has been commercially harvested in Maine for decades and it is an important part of a healthy intertidal ecosystem. Recently, the Maine Supreme Judicial court ruled that rockweed, unl...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Key Discussion Points: ·What are your books about? ·Between you, you have very different genres (fiction, science writing, guidebooks…), how did you come to this genre and how do you think your work is related to each other? ·How does Maine figure in your books? Why? ·What is your research process? ·What are the ethics of getting the fac...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel ·Overview of the interdisciplinary approach to education at the K-12 North Haven Community School. ·What is a magnet school program and why is an island-based school seeking magnet students? ·Student voices talking about the experience of being a magnet student, how a washed up whale became a central focus throughout the school’s curriculum this year, and how one s...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne 1) What are alewives, what is their ecology and cultural history? 2) How do alewives uses the Bagaduce region and have been their barriers to spawning here? 3) What is being done to help restore alewives in the regions, the important role of volunteers and how people can get involved. Guests: Bailey Bowden from the Town of Penobscot, fis...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne College of the Atlantic senior Kaitlyn Clark completed 19 interviews with worm harvesters, dealers and others involved in the marine worm industry (the state’s fifth largest fishery). On today’s show, we share audio clips from six of those harvesters and dealers who, with help from Clark, cover the following topics: 1. What are marine wo...

Voices From the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019: Women in Fisheries Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel When you picture someone hauling up lobster traps on the wind swept Atlantic Ocean, chances are good that you are picturing a man. Fishing is one of those industries that is still mostly dominated by men. But that’s changing. The number of women involved in fishing is on the rise, and there are...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Maine coastal and ocean issues: Portland’s Working Waterfront at a Crossroads What is the history of Portland’s working waterfront and what role does it play in the state’s fishing industry? What changes are fishermen and wharf owners experiencing on the waterfront? How has Portland’s mixed use zoning changed over the last several decades an...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Note: Because of storm-related power outages in the area, Coastal Conversation aired only via live stream on it’s usual air date, 1/25/19. It was rebroadcast on 1/31/19. Maine coastal and ocean issues: The Maine Ocean School Key Discussion Points: -Interviews with students, faculty and board members at the Maine Ocean School, a new public magnet school based...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Guest Co-producers for this show: Corina Gribble, Ela Keegan, and Katie Clark, College of the Atlantic students Maine coastal and ocean issues: Stories from the nation’s island-based working waterfronts Key Discussion Points: 1. Year-round island communities in Maine, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Great Lakes all share the need for an active working waterfront...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Maine coastal and ocean issues: Tourism and Community Development Downeast Key Discussion Points: A) Are tourism and quality of life for locals mutually exclusive? B) How do initiatives like Heart of Ellsworth contribute to community vitality? C) Some areas (such as Bar Harbor) seek to balance too much tourism; most other places in the r...