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

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Coastal and marine issues Program Topic: Youth engaged in marine programs in Maine Key Discussion Points: What are your summer programs for youth all about? Why is it so important to get kids outside learning about the Maine coast and experiencing it? Stories from the field, what kids are finding and experiencing on the coast in t...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Coastal issues in Maine Program Topic: Leave No Trace in Acadia National Park and Stewardship for the Next 100 years Key Discussion Points: a) Leave no trace practices and guidelines for minimizing outdoor impact b) Acadia National Park visitation c) Questions from callers regarding Subaru sponsorship of Leave No Trace efforts Gue...

Producer/Host: Catherine Schmitt Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Local stream stewardship and restoration Key Discussion Points: Maine’s coastal rivers are home to several species of fish that are “sea run” or diadromous – they spend part of their lives in the ocean but return to freshwater to spawn. Many Maine land owners and communities are taking...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Coastal and Ocean issues Program Topic: Gulls and seabirds in the Gulf of Maine Key Discussion Points: a) Herring and great black-back gull populations are on the decline in the Gulf of Maine, what is happening? b) Researchers at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and at University of New Brunswick share their field work and re...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: John Greenman Program Topic: Penobscot Watershed Key Discussion Points: Details about the upcoming 2016 Penobscot Watershed Conference, April 9, 2016 in Northport. History and challenges that the Penobscot Watershed has faced, including dams and environmental pollution. Penobscot Watershed success stories, including Penobscot River Restoration Trus...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Experience Maritime Maine Key Discussion Points: What is the Experience Maritime Maine initiative? Why is Maine’s Maritime Heritage so important to our coastal communities? How boat building, windjammer cruises, museums, film archives, and an upcoming maritime film festival all contrib...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Where have all the shrimp gone? Key Discussion Points: Why have regulators put a closure on the Northern Shrimp fishery for the third winter in a row? How is the shrimp population in the Gulf of Maine doing and how to we know? How does increased water temperature and other variables im...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Maine Seafood Traditions Key Discussion Points: What is the role of seafood in Maine’s holiday traditions? How did settlement patterns and religion impact holiday food traditions? What are people ordering from the fish market during this season? What is the Maine Sardine Drop? Guests: Sandy Oliver, food historian...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Maine Scallops: What Makes Them So Great? Key Discussion Points: How has Maine enabled the recovery of Maine scallops? How are Maine scallops managed and what is the role of fishermen and researchers in that management? What makes Maine scallops taste so incredible and fresh? Guests: Trisha Cheney from the Maine...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Marine Debris and Microplastic Pollution in our Ocean Key Discussion Points: What is marine debris? Comparing marine debris such as trash bags, plastic bottles, fishing gear, and other visible marine debris, with microplastics, such as microbeads, plastic fibers and other microscopic p...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Phenology and Citizen Science Key Discussion Points: How can phenology (the tracking of seasonal changes within plants and animals in our communities) help inform climate change research? What are the impacts of global climate change on our backyard plant and animals? What are some of...

Producer/Host: Paul Anderson Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: The University of Maine’s Coastal Ocean Observing efforts Key Discussion Points: Status of buoy-based ocean observing systems in the gulf of Maine Trends in oceanographic data in recent years Why this information is important to fishermen and communities Guests: Dr. David Townsend, U...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: History, Culture, and Heritage of the Lobster Industry in Maine Key Discussion Points: History of the industry in Maine, including readings from “The Maine Lobster Industry: A History of Culture, Conservation and Commerce” by Cathy Billings History of the industry on Cranberry Isles, t...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineers: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Coastal Beach Water Quality Key Discussion Points: -What is the Maine Helathy Beaches Program? -How clean are Maine Beaches and what are towns like Lincolnville, Rockport, and York doing to keep them clean? -What is the correlation between heavy rainfall and beach water quality? -What...

Guest host Catherine Schmitt Studio Engineers: Amy Browne & Matt Murphy Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: The Spring Running: Fish Migration in Penobscot River and Bay Key Discussion Points: Maine’s coastal rivers are home to several species of fish that are “sea run” or diadromous – they spend part of their lives in the ocean but return to freshwater to spawn. Many towns c...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Maine Fishermen’s Forum: A 40 year retrospective Key Discussion Points: a) What is the Maine Fishermen’s Forum and why has it been so important to the fishing industry of the past 40 years. b) How has the fishing industry changed in 40 years c) Recorded interviews from 2015 Forum atten...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: John Greenman Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Seal and Whale Strandings in Maine: Why they happen and why we respond Key Discussion Points: a) Why do marine mammals strand/beach themselves, which ones do, when is it a concern? b) What are necropsies and other methods for responding to strandings of live and dead marine mammals?...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Green Crabs: Invasion, Impact and Opportunities Key Discussion Points: a) Green crab invasion, how they got here and when b) What impact are green crabs having on shellfish and other species? c) What can municipalities and others do about the explosion of green crabs? Guests: Brian Bea...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues Program Topic: Ocean Acidification Key Discussion Points: a) What is Ocean Acidification? b) How does ocean acidification affect shellfish and other organisms? c) What are people in Maine doing to mitigate ocean acidification? Guests: Joe Salisbury, Research Professor of Oceanography/Biogeochemistry ...