Season 3, Episode 13: Net-Pen Salmon Farming in Maine: The Historical Context
Guest: Natalie Springuel
Air Date: December 1, 2022
Host: Raney Bench
In the past couple of years, public debate about net-pen salmon farms in Frenchman Bay has spiked due to the interest of a large aqua-farm proposal for these waters.
Natalie Springuel dives into the history of wild Atlantic salmon in the region, why people can no longer fish for them, and the development of aquaculture, such as net-pen salmon farming, in Maine.
About Our Guest
For more than two decades, Natalie Springuel has been a marine extension associate with the University of Maine Sea Grant program based at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. In previous issues of Chebacco, she has covered the history of MDI’s cod fishery as well as MDI’s working waterfront history. She joined the MDI Historical Society’s Board of Directors in 2021.
Chebacco articles by Natalie Springuel
- Net-Pen Salmon Farming in Maine: The Historical Context (2022)
- Mount Desert Island’s Diverse Working Waterfront (2016)
- From Wealth to Poverty: The Rise and Fall of Cod around Mount Desert Island (2015) with William B. Leavenworth and Karen Alexander
Previous Chebacco Chat appearances
- No. 25: Stories From the Sea, Fishing Communities Revealed