Today is the second day of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport, Maine. Yesterday was an excellent day with a positive, forward-looking Maine Coast Community Sector Annual Meeting (check my Twitter feed for some of the highlights) and a great Maine seafood event featuring several chefs including personal favorite, Barton Seaver. Especially illuminating was the Q&A following the chef’s event with some insightful commentary by both Togue Brown of Maine Dayboat Scallops and Sebastian Belle of the Maine Aquaculture Association. During the Q&A, we even wandered into some of my personal favorite territory with discussion relating to seafood labeling and seafood fraud (stay tuned for more on both if these from my coverage of the Seafood Expo North America in a couple weeks). An unexpected bonus to the day yesterday was a beer with Ben Martens, manager of Maine Coast Community Sector. I’ll get more detailed content about the above published here in the coming days, but, in the interim, it’s on to Day 2.
Today, I’m planning on attending the groundfish management meeting followed by the New England Fisheries Management Council public hearing regarding the Atlantic herring fishery. This afternoon, I’ll either attend a seminar focused on the cod fishery or a seminar on approved bait. I plan to round out the day with the NOAA open forum. Once again, stay tuned to my Twitter feed throughout the day, and please come back here for more in-depth coverage over the next few days.