Two supporters of Protect Maine testified at the legislature on LD 2003, a bill that would have industrialized rockweed harvesting. Rockweed is an important habitat for the ecosystem and baby lobsters. Read more here about baby lobster habitat. Read their testimonies in full below.
Thanks to Senate President Troy Jackson for pulling his support of the bill.
Protect Maine supporter Kelsey Fenwick testifying against LD 2003.
Kelsey Fenwick
Good Afternoon,
Senator Cameron Reny, Reprsentative Allison Helpler and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources.
My name is Kelsey Fenwick, and I am a sternman fishing out of Port Clyde. Additionally, I am a consultant to Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation, an organization that opposes industrial scale aquaculture but supports small scale owner- operator aquaculture.
I have been lobstering up and down the coast of Maine for around 10 years now, and in that time I’ve grown passionate about protecting the Gulf of Maine and it’s many resources.
As you are aware, the Gulf of Maine is under exceeding pressure, from offshore wind farm development to industrial scale aquaculture to environmental changes.
Rockweed is important to preserving a healthy marine ecosystem. Rockweed provides food, habitat, carbon dioxide reduction, and erosion protection. As a primary producer, rockweed serves as a base food source that supports the entire foodweb. Rockweed traps sediments and heavy metals, reducing algal blooms. Rockweed’s buffering effect protects intertidal zones: reducing the impacts of storm surges and combating rising sea levels.
I oppose this bill because I fear turning rockweed into a large scale commercial fishery is going to lead to the depletion of the natural population, which will definitely have a negative impact on our coastal ecosystems. If ocean acidification is a risk to the Gulf of Maine, this bill does not stand to help. If shoreline erosion and rising sea levels are a concern, this bill does not help combat those either. We need rockweed in order to have a healthy Gulf of Maine.
I strongly encourage the council to vote no on this bill in order to protect the Gulf of Maine and our precious marine ecosystem. Thank you for your time.
Protect Maine supporter Camden Reiss testifying against LD 2003.
Camden Reiss
Good Afternoon,
Senator Cameron Reny, Reprsentative Allison Helpler and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources.
My name is Camden Reiss, I am a shellfish harvester in the town of Brunswick, in which I serve as chair of the marine resources committee. I am a consultant to Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation, an organization that opposes industrial scale aquaculture but supports small scale owner- operator aquaculture.
I have been working the intertidal zone all over the coast of Maine digging bloodworms for around 12 years now, which has given me a chance to observe and learn about the marine ecosystem. I learned about the importance of preserving the keystone species and habitat, such as eelgrass and other naturally occurring filter-feeders.
I have visited hundreds of different coves and the ones with bountiful rockweed usually seem to have the most commercial resources. Rockweed is important to preserving a healthy marine ecosystem. To back up my claim, I sifted through some rockweed literature and found aninteresting article called Rockweed in Maine’s Intertidal Zone, written by Eva Leggae, a professor from Dartmouth. The importance and over all function of rockweed is described in the following quote:
“Heralded by some ecologists as the “old growth forest” of the sea, Ascophyllum is an essential ecosystem engineer upon which more than 150 marine species depend”. Ascophyllum reduces physical stresses (such as drying, summer heat, high light, or wave exposure) for the affiliated intertidal communities. Though many species benefit indirectly from rockweed, most directly depend on its presence to survive; some, such as epiphytes and larvae, even affix themselves directly to the surface of the algae. In addition to providing a vital habitat, rockweed sequesters carbon and nitrogen, provides energy to the food web by feeding grazers, and helps nutrients stay distributed throughout the water”
The issue I take with this bill is that opening rockweed up as a commercial fishery is going to lead to the depletion of the natural population, which will definitely have a negative impact on our coastal ecosystems. Maine’s coastline is already suffering enough due to the effects of global warming and large-scale industrial aquaculture.
I strongly encourage the council to vote no on this bill in order to protect our precious marine ecosystem. Thank you for your time.