Maine’s Marine Economies Face Rough Waters

There are an estimated 30,000 Mainers who, one way or another, depend on the state’s marine economies, and it seems every one of them is contending with some sort of hit right now, as the COVID-19 pandemic has upset the long-established systems of seasonal seafood supply and demand.

Jeff Augur says that when famed Boston restaurant chain Legal Sea Foods started closing doors two weeks ago, the trend was obvious. But still “it was amazing how quickly it came crashing to halt.”

Augur is river foreman at one of the big Damariscotta River oyster-growing operations, Mook Sea Farm. He says that about a week ago, trucks sent to the company’s usual Boston buyers started coming back almost fully-loaded with unsold oysters. Then it got worse.

“This week we all worked half the hours and then, unfortunately, we’ve had to furlough about 70-80 percent of the crew.”

That’s about a dozen workers, he says. Most or all of the region’s oyster farms find themselves on the ropes during what is usually one of the busiest times, after a winter slowdown.

And this was supposed to be serious money-making time for the state’s elver fishermen.

“The elver price is $500 a pound compared to the $2000 we got last year,” says Krista Tripp of South Thomaston.

Tripp is, like many in Maine’s seafood industry, a multi-faceted saltwater entrepreneur. In addition to netting the glass eels to serve now-anemic Asian markets, she’s a sometime sternman on her father’s lobster boat, and she runs a small oyster farm as well.

Read the rest of this story at Maine Public’s website.