Fish

Aerial Photo of Searsport Showing Weir

In the 1950s there was a very large herring fish weir in Searsport, Maine, as shown on this aerial photograph. Fish swam along the shore, ran into the leader, then swam around in circles inside the pound. Fishermen often caught the fish using a seine net inside the weir. Similar weirs were found in towns like Rockport and on the islands in the Muscle Ridge group. These weirs supplied canneries in Belfast and Rockland.

Atlantic Cod

Drawing provided courtesy of the Maine Department of Marine Resources Recreational Fisheries program and the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.

The Haddock

Haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus.

This image is from G. Brown Goode's The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, 1884-1887, Section V, Plate 59A. The book can be found on line at NOAA.

The George's Bank Cod Fishery

George's Bank hand-line crew. On the right a fisherman is hand-line fishing. To the left a fish is being hoisted over the rail with a gaff. In the center, cod tongues, a delicacy, are being cut out before the fish is cleaned, split and salted.

This image is from G. Brown Goode's The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, 1884-1887, Section V, Plate 32. The book can be found on line at NOAA.

Herring Weir Fishing, Rockport

Harlan Hurd is dipping herring out of a weir in Rockport Harbor.

2011 Fish Landings by Value

This pie chart shows the relative value of catches in the Maine fisheries for the year 2011. Lobster far outstrips anything else with aquaculture salmon being a distant second.

Pie chart courtesy of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

2011 Fish Landings by Pounds

This pie chart shows the relative weight of catches in the Maine fisheries for the year 2011. More pounds of herring were caught than lobster but the value was far less.

Pie chart courtesy of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

The Atlantic Salmon

Atlantic Salmon, Salmo salar. Once a highly valued commercial fish,  the Maine Atlantic Salmon was declared an endangered species in 2009. Salmon are raised in aquaculture, but many problems, ranging from disease to ecological issues like impact on feed fish and fish pen effluent, are creating difficulties for farm raised salmon.

This image is from G. Brown Goode's The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, 1884-1887, Section I, Plate 186. The book can be found on line at:

Atlantic Mackerel

The Atlantic mackerel is a schooling (pelagic) fish once caught for fertilizer. It does not keep well but can be canned. Fresh, it was popular in the Boston market with fast mackerel schooners bringing fish in from waters near Cape Cod. Today mackerel is primarily caught for bait and aquaculture food.

Drawings provided courtesy of the Maine Department of Marine Resources Recreational Fisheries program and the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.

Atlantic Herring

The Atlantic herring is perhaps the Atlantic's most important food fish.

Drawings provided courtesy of the Maine Department of Marine Resources Recreational Fisheries program and the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.

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