Yesterday was giving day and throughout this week, you are most likely inundated with emails from good causes around the state of Maine.
Here’s why Protect Maine should be in the mix:
1. Our Local Communities work around moratoriums and ordinances couldn’t be more important. Our work gives towns an opportunity to have a say in the future of their waters. This year two more communities have passed ordinances that limit industrial scale aquaculture. Protect Maine provides legal language and guidance if needed in the process. As we have noted before, Maine is a home rule state and the Department of Marine Resources is fighting against communities determining their own future regarding industrial scale aquaculture. Donate to Protect Local Communities.
Winter Harbor unanimously passes ordinance - 2024
2. Scientific Research – This year Protect Maine partnered with the Shaw Institute in Blue Hill to begin a significant piece of work around the causes of environmental pollution as it relates to industrial scale aquaculture. This is a work in progress and our first round of testing has raised a series of interesting questions that we will be pursuing about degradation, biofouling, and carrying capacity. Protect Maine will again delve into scientific research in 2025 around how industrial scale aquaculture leases may impact water quality. Donate to support our Science Work.
3. We are gathering information that the public has not seen before by requesting documents under the Freedom of Access Act in Maine. All these documents are in the process of being posted to our website at protectmaine.com and are free to anyone who wants to view them. These documents are more important than ever as we watch net pen salmon die offs in Maine. The documents are being posted free of charge on our website under the “FOAA” tab. They are not free to us. If you would like to support this work, we would appreciate it. Donate to support transparency in government.
4. We are launching what is called a micro-site that will delve into the issues around in water net pen salmon that is consumed by the public at large. We will be looking at what others around the world have found about the quality of food, how it is raised, what chemicals are permitted for use here in Maine and ultimately whether it’s a product you want to put on your table. Donate to support our "consumer awareness campaign"
This year has been one of the best for Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation. You can see some of the news clips that helped to propel us in 2024 by visiting our website protectmaine.com/news
That is small in comparison however to the support we get in communities everywhere we go, and we Thank you! Our mission statement remains true: “We believe in protecting Maine’s fishing heritage so all Mainers can earn a living and recreate along our iconic coast.”
Protect Maine believes in small, Maine owner operator aquaculture farms,that are appropriately sited. We believe small scale aquaculture is a great opportunity for residents. Sadly, that’s not what we are seeing, as the coast is being sold for large scale industrial private aquaculture use.
We will continue our work in 2025 because we - like you - don’t want to see the coast of Maine owned by industrial scale aquaculture.