Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program. This month: The January 10 and 13, 2024 storms, along with compounding record high tides, storm surge, and strong southeasterly winds, caused much damage throughout the Maine coast, including the loss of many piers and wharves, erosion of roadways, and destruction of private and municipal coastal access infrastructure. On today’s show, we share portions of a January 16th information session about storm impact and res ..read more

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Sears Island: Past, Present, and Future What is the history of Sears Island, starting from the Wabanaki, into the colonial era and intop the recent past? Sears Island’s history of multiple industrial development proposals and its eventual conservation. What is Friends of Sears Island, the legal management entity, doing to engage the public on the island? Guests Susan White, President, Friends of Sears Island Rolf Olsen, VP, Friends of Sears Island Stephen Miller, Isleboro Islands Trust Ashly Megquire, Outreach coordinator, Friends of ..read more

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Maine coastal and ocean issues: Fisheries History at Penobscot Marine Museum -Penobscot Marine Museum’s fisheries exhibit and events and the role of museums in helping people understand about complex fishing industry issues -National Fishermen’s photo archives from the Post World War Two era, donated and on display at Penobscot Marine Museum, illustrate over 60 years of fishing industry changes in Maine and the Nation -Port Clyde Fresh Catch founder and long time fisherman Glen Libby, described the changes he has seen in 40 years of fishing, including changes i ..read more

-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 shellfish) and long term plans for reseeding mudflats. -How communities are working together for the shared goal of mudflat repatriation in the face of climate change, predation from green crabs and ri ..read more

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 these initiatives all about, how can they contribute to community and economic development and how can people get involved? What is the value of digging deep into the story of Maine’s people and places? How do these s ..read more

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Today, April 22, 2022, is Earth Day! And what better way to celebrate Earth Day than to explore the realm of one of the earth’s most interesting group of species: Seaweed. Seaweed has seen a surge in interest in Maine in the last few years, with a growing number of people paying attention to seaweed – from consumers to nutrition experts, from harvesters to farmers, from restoration ecologists to beauticians. And Maine finds itself at the center of it all. This week, just in time for Earth Day, Maine is celebrating Maine Seaweed Week – multiple days full of acti ..read more

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 that are still visible today. On this edition of Coastal Conversations, we feature nine interviews centered around Maine’s historic sardine industry. These interviews span the entire process of creati ..read more

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, age 74, of West Tremont, Maine, interviewed by Rita Swidrowski in 1972. Andy Gove, age 44, of Stonington, Maine, interviewed by David Littleton-Taylor in 1974. Tim Staples, age unknown (perhaps in his ear ..read more

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Happy New Year from our team at Coastal Conversations where we are launching season 8 of our show! For our first show of 2022, we are once again teaming up with The First Coast and the Island Institute to feature the final episode in our series about innovative people in Maine who are sustainably harvesting and growing products from the sea. First up, we’re talking about Maine’s groundfish fishery, past and present, and the potential that exists, for both fishermen and consumers, to support a diverse local marketplace and help support our fisheries. Then, to wr ..read more

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel Maine coastal and ocean issues: Life and Science on Mount Desert Rock Today, we venture out to the most remote of all of Maine’s islands, Mount Desert Rock, an exposed ledge, barely 3 acres in size, that emerges from a remarkably productive patch of ocean about 22 nautical miles south of Mount Desert Island. Since the early 19th century the island has had a light tower to assist mariners, and various buildings to house light-keeper families. In the mid-20th century, the island was occupied by the United States Coast Guard. And since the 1990’s, after the Coast ..read more