Sears Island have been stewarding the island's natural resources and human history, and providing educational programs for all ages in its woods, fields, and shorelines.

This is Natalie Springuel, from the University of Maine Sea Grant, host of Coastal Conversations. On our next program, we'll explore Sears Island, or Wassumkeag as its original inhabitants called it, through colonial settlement, farming, fishing, industrial threats, and into today.

After the success of our 2017 calendar featuring Karen Talbot's illustrations of all 12 diadromous fish species native to Maine, we decided to produce a poster featuring the same paintings with updated text. The 24 inch x 30 inch posters are available at no cost. Call our office or stop by an upcoming event to request a copy.

Telling stories about fishing is a tradition that's been passed down through generations of Maine fishing families. Stories about close calls, huge catches, surprising fish, controversial management, family moments at sea… These stories are the heart of Maine's coastal communities.

Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia A. Earle will present "Exploring the Ocean in the 21st Century" at the Collins Center for the Arts, April 30th, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tickets are free but must be reserved by visiting the box office in the lobby of the Collins Center for the Arts or by calling (207) 581-1755. Her lecture will include underwater film of her research and conservation efforts in many coastal and deep areas of the global ocean.

The National Sea Grant College Program has awarded prestigious Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships to three University of Maine graduates who will spend the next year working in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program.

More and more people on the coast of Maine are focusing their attention on seaweed. People are harvesting it, eating it, selling it, growing it, even going to court over who owns it. But what exactly is seaweed and what is its role in a healthy coastal marine environment?

Skylar Bayer, Kevin Staples and Mattie Rodrigue join 54 fellow graduates nationwide who will spend a year working on marine policy in Washington, D.C. The fellowships provide the opportunity for recent graduates to apply their scientific background to marine and coastal policymaking at the national level.

Read more on umaine.edu

Are you going to this year's Maine Fishermen's Forum, March 1-3, at the Samoset in Rockland, Maine? Then look for the Airstream parked out front and plan to step aboard and be interviewed! Every Forum attendee is welcome to hop on The First Coast's Airstream mobile recording studio to participate in oral history interviews conducted by students and professionals, all three days of the Forum (10 AM to 10 PM).