A A Maine seaport to serve export andimport operations for all types of generalcargo, bulk and container handling, needsa rail and transportation system with modernbulk moving equipment and technologyto multi-task all visiting shipping need.Rail and adequate road transport to andfrom such a seaport to accommodate thesuper-ships of this new century is crucialto allow for transshipment, short termgrain or bulk storage facilities, bunkering,shipyard and dry dock capacities forexpansion. These are all things the eastcoast ports of New York, Norfolk,Baltimore, Charleston and Savannah arealready planning to rebuild, dredge, andaccommodate as the so called thirdgeneration port comes to fruition in the21st Century. Billions will be spent bythese ports to compete for the next decadesshipping needs.

As with very few other coastal states,Maine has some of these shipping factorsat one or more ports on a small scale.Portland is doing well to gear up forincreased container activity there to gobeyond the increased traffic Eimskip has

already brought in with new ocean shippingfrom northern Europe and Iceland andmay soon provide a 7 day turn aroundservice to Europe. The new rail line tothe International Terminal in Portland isthe first step planned for the coming yearand mirrors the dire need for rail servicefor all Maine ports. Additionally, planningis underway in Robbinston by a companycalled Downeast LNG to have a mooringterminal for a bidirectional LNG facility

there to connect offloading liquid gas forconnection to the Northeast Pipeline goingto the Maritimes. To import, this facilitywould re-gasify natural gas liquid and toexport, and liquefy any American gasheaded out. Maine does not have a portthat is a one stop shopping type port forall, but Eastports potential as the deepestport on the east coast stands above therest. Robbinston, at Head Harbor Passagenearby, with a potential working LNGfacility privately developed couldcompliment area transport requirementsto boost what is expected to be neededlong term. Especially if additional pipelinesare added, headed south to run such gas

in that direction or liquid gas hits the rails oron road networks in multiple directions.A A railroad right of way from Eastport toAyres Junction would connect this port to thestate rail system and from the port to at least asfar as Old Town, the potential first leg of a neweast west road already seems clear.Dissatisfaction for the EW highway projectfrom Old Town west in parts of Penobscot andPiscataquis County stumbles the project but theprinciples behind such road building seemconfident a road will transect within a decadeeven if it avoids municipalities presentlyagainst the concept north or south of contestedterritory. At Searsport, the recent defeat of thenatural gas expansion facility there by voters innearby municipalities mushroomed into

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10 S P R I N G ISSUE MainelyAgriculture || Equi Ag & Livestock || Aqua Agriculture 2015

towns from Machiasport to Addison (in-cluding Roque Bluffs, Jonesboro, Jonesport,and Beals). Clams have always been animportant commercial resource providinghundreds of jobs in coastal towns all alongthe coast. During the mid-1980s, clamstocks began to dwindle for reasons that arestill poorly understood. Because the tech-nology to produce clams and other bivalvesin a hatchery setting had been around fordecades, we decided to try our hand at be-coming the first-ever public shellfish hatch-ery to produce clam seed for stockenhancement purposes. So, in June 1987 ata renovated clam shucking shack on the endof a 200-ft wooden wharf jutting out intoMoosabec Reach (between Beals and Jone-sport) we induced clam adults to spawn andproduce swimming larvae that eventuallybecame tiny, shelled, clam seed. Every yearsince 1987, we have produced between 4-10million juvenile soft-shell clams for com-munities who wish to enhance their flatswith cultured clam seed. Adult clams typically spawn when seawa-ter temperatures in the spring hit the 50 Fmark. Spawning occurs in waves from thesouthwestern end of the state to thedowneast shores beginning in May in theYork/Kennebunk area and continuing intomid-June/early July in Cobscook and Passa-maquoddy Bays in the Eastport/Perry area.Clams have separate sexes, and adults willrelease their gametes into the water columnwhere fertilization occurs. In the hatchery,we use a thermal shock (a rapid change inseawater temperature from 50 F - 70 F) toinduce adults to spawn. Swimming larvae(small enough so that you could fit about 50on the head of a pin) develop within 24hours after fertilization. In 48 hours, thefirst, delicate shell appears (thin enough sothat you can see right through it when look-ing at these animals under a microscope).After about 16-18 days at seawater tempera-tures between 65-70 F, the larval clams losetheir ability to swim and settle to the bottomof the vessels that we use to culture them in.They are about 1/5 of a millimeter (200microns), or approximately 1/25 of an inch

when they settle to the bottom. Clams, likeother living creatures, require constant food,and we produce the food single-celledphytoplankton or marine algae that theyuse to survive and grow.

Once theyhave transi-tioned to abottomdwelling life,we placethem on veryfine meshtrays andcontinuefeeding themfor another 4-6 weeks dur-ing whichtime most

have reached a size where they will rest onwindow screening. This is a size of about0.08 inches, or roughly 2 millimeters. Atthat size we place 10,000 animals at a timeinto 4-ft x 3-ft wooden trays lined withwindow screening along with a handful ofperiwinkles (a marine snail), and deploy thetrays on the surface waters of a protectedcove nearby the DEI facility. From June toNovember, the clams in the trays grow to anaverage size of -inch. We have found thatplanting the seed clams in November doesnot yield the best results for several reasons:1) clams do not grow between October andApril, so they burrow quite shallowly in themud; 2) they are very susceptible to preda-tors (ducks, fish, crabs) when they resideclose to the top of the sediments; and 3) ifice forms in the seeded areas, it could pushclams from the sediments or raft them outwasting lots of time and effort to put themthere. So, instead of a late fall planting, weoverwinter the animals in our facility onGreat Wass Island and then they are readyfor a spring planting. Planting these delicateclams must be done in conjunction withprotecting them (usually with a polypropyl-ene flexible netting1/6 inch mesh) or elsepredators will consume the majority of

them. We have conducted numerous studiesover the years in various intertidal areasalong the coast to examine the effects ofpredators on clams that are in protected vs.unprotected plots and the results are stark.Typically, predators are responsible for col-lectively consuming between 70-100% ofthe clam seed within six months of plantingin unprotected plots. Netting can result in80-90% survival to commercial size.M More information about soft-shell clamculture in the hatchery facility and resultsfrom experimental trials can be found at:www.downeastinstitute.org/soft-shell-clams-1.htm.

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Hatchery started, marked, dug up from field

The Maine Fishermens Forum hasagain offered scholarships to students fromMaines commercial family fishing indus-try, March 6 at Samoset Resort. Applicantsmust be in at least their second year ofcollege (or trade school) with an immediatefamily member involved in Maines fishingindustry. Prior winners were not eligible.Applications are available annuallywww.mainefishermensforum.org or from coor-dinator: chilloa@taxbracket.com. To date,more than $284,000 in scholarships havebeen awarded, and in celebration of the Fo-rums 40 Anniversary this year, $40,000was awarded as scholarships to: Mikel Acin,Biddeford, York Community College;Kasey Benner, Waldoboro, U of Mass.; An-drew Cox, Jonesboro, UMO; Sadia Crosby,Georgetown, Roger Williams University;Lauren Crosby, Georgetown, UMF; AaronDoughty, Phippsburg, Maine Maritime; Ty-ler Greenlaw, Stockton Springs, UMO;Hallie Harris, Eastport, UNE; Aston Har-vey, Waldoboro, UMF; Lindsey Joyce,Cushing, UMO; Amelia Joyce, Swans Is-land, Eastern Maine Community College;Daniel Keliher, So Gardiner, Brown Univ.;Morgan Merchant, Beals Island, Husson;Jordan Shufeldt, Harpswell, Husson; CodyStewart, N Yarmouth, MMI Univ TechnicalInstitute; Emmaline Waldron, So Thomas-ton, USM; Elise Wallace, Rockland, UMO;Tyler Warner, Cutler, Husson; Evan Whid-den, Harpswell, UMO; and Brooke Wood,Machiasport, UMPI.

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Our need for a third generation port

Maine transportation offi-cials have been studying a Brewer-Holden-Eddington connector highway since before2000 and a recent Eddington select boardmeeting put a positive spin on the plannedInterstate 395-Route 9 connector - called2B2 - by signing a resolve in support of theroute defined to extend I-395 at the WilsonStreet junction and roughly follow theHolden-Brewer town line until entering Ed-dington and connecting with 4.5 miles of ato-be-rebuilt Route 9. There are two otherpossible routes under study but oppositionthus far have taken MDOT by surprise butall - according to the latest environmentimpact statement - would have minimaleffects on the surrounding environment.

Another Penquis areatown has extended a previous moratoriumagainst the unpopular privatized east-westhighway proposed by Cianbro Corporationand others for an interstate style highwayfrom Eastport to Coburn Gore, here Feb.17. Presently Dover-Foxcroft, Sangerville,Parkman, Garland and Dexter are includedin the region not supporting the same con-cept. Monson has yet to reconsider extend-ing a moratorium.

Infrastructure projectsTransportation

East West No, Again

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mailto:chilloa@taxbracket.com.mailto:chilloa@taxbracket.com.