Ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach the ‘Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups’ (USG) level according to Air Quality Meteorologists at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. 

Ozone is expected to reach USG levels along the coast from Kittery through Acadia National Park on both Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection.

The Downeast Coastal, Western Interior, and Eastern Interior regions are expected to reach Moderate levels. Ozone has been building over the Mid-Atlantic region on Tuesday, with this airmass projected to move over Southern New England and into Maine on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Particle Pollution is expected to be Moderate statewide on Wednesday due to wildfire smoke entering the region.

On Thursday, weather conditions are expected to remain consistent, and currently, Air Quality Forecasters are not expecting pollutants to move out of the Maine area. USG levels of ozone are expected for the Southwest and Mid-Coastal regions with the Downeast Coast, Western Interior, and Eastern Interior remaining Moderate.

For particle pollution, the entire state of Maine is expected to remain in the Moderate range since smoke can be slow to clean out. However, please check the website Thursday morning for the finalized forecast.

At elevated ozone levels, children, the elderly and individuals suffering from respiratory or heart diseases such as asthma, bronchitis or COPD can experience reduced lung function and irritation.  In addition, healthy adults who exert themselves outdoors may also notice these health effects.  Affected individuals may notice symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation and/or experience mild chest pain.

Some actions you can take to protect your health during such periods of include:

• Avoiding strenuous outdoor activity
• Closing windows and circulating indoor air with a fan or air conditioner
• Asthmatics should keep their quick-relief medications and action plan handy

Additional health information may be found on the following websites:

In addition to those in a sensitive group, others who are responsible for the welfare of people impacted by poor air quality are urged to use one of the listed tools to follow the Air Quality Forecast:

For more information go to Maine DEP’s air quality web site www.maine.gov/dep/air/aqforecast.

Each spring, fishermen set nets in Maine’s rivers to fish for the state’s most valuable catch. No, not the iconic lobster, but tiny glass eels that fetch wholesale prices topping $2,000 per pound. Those baby eels, each two to three inches long, aren’t destined for dinner yet. Instead, they’re bought by aquaculture farms in Asia and grown to maturity in tanks; each pound of glass eels yields about 1,250 pounds of adult eels. Those adult eels are then sold back to the American market.

To Sara Rademaker, a marine educator with a degree in fisheries and aquaculture, the system didn’t make any sense: “Why don’t we just grow our fish in our own community?” she asked. In 2014, she launched American Unagi, North America’s first large-scale, land-based eel aquafarm. It started as a small, home-based operation but quickly grew. “We had 7,000 [glass eels], and then we jumped to 50,000 — and then 500,000.”

Young eels are still caught by licensed Maine eel harvesters, but instead of getting sent to Asia, they’re raised in Waldoboro, Maine, in recirculating aquaculture tanks. In captivity, 90% of the eels reach maturity, versus 1% in the wild. Fed a diet that’s free of hormones and antibiotics, they reach market size in under three years. Last year, the aquafarm raised 2 million eels, accounting for 5% of the U.S. market.

American Unagi ships fresh eels to chefs and fishmongers around the country. Their product has been served at more than 20 Michelin-starred restaurants, including Reverie in Washington, D.C., where chef Johnny Spero serves it grilled, brushed in a reduction of badger flame beets, and topped with caviar. “Quality and sustainability play a huge role in what we decide to put on our menu, and it’s especially important when we can highlight an ingredient so close to home,” he says.

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With the entire eel aquaculture operation taking place in Maine, consumers and chefs like Spero are finally able to have a more sustainable source for unagi — one that is trusted and traceable. “Ten to 15 years ago, people started wanting to know where their seafood was coming from — asking questions about their food systems,” says Rademaker. “That was something that helped me grow my business. People recognized the value of domestically caught and produced seafood.” Rademaker is now partnering with the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township on their project to establish an eel farm and processing facility in Maine’s rural Washington County. With the homegrown supply expanding, this native fish could finally gain pride of place on the American menu.

Read the original article on Food & Wine

A 74-year-old Ocala man has drowned in Maine, according to a news release from that state’s Department of Fisheries & Inland Wildlife.

According to the release, Richard Eason has a summer home on Damariscotta Lake in Nobleboro. About 1:45 p.m. on May 30, he launched his boat into the lake, pulled it to shore, then went to park his truck.

While he was away, the boat drifted into the lake.

“Witnesses on the lake who were fishing saw Eason jump into the water and swim after his boat that continued to drift away from him,” the news release says. “Witnesses stated that after Eason swam approximately 75 yards, he went under the water and never resurfaced. Eason was not wearing a life jacket.”

A dive team eventually recovered his body in about 15 feet of water, the release says.