Cruise ships ordering up Maine lobsters by the thousands | Portland Press Herald

Cruise ships are continuing to stoke their passengers’ appetites for Maine lobster.

Celebrity Cruises ordered 1,600 lobsters for delivery Friday to its 2,000-passenger boat, the Celebrity Summit. When the ship returns to Portland later this month, it plans to buy another 1,600 lobsters. That’s on top of the 640 lobsters the company bought last month, according to a press release from U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree.

Two years ago, Pingree wrote to the chief executives of several major cruise ship companies urging them to buy local lobsters while in port. At the time, there was a glut of lobster, depressing prices for the entire industry.

Celebrity and Norwegian cruise lines responded by buying Maine lobsters. Others have as well.

Erik Elvejord, a spokesman from Seattle-based Holland America Line, which brings approximately 35,000 passengers to Bar Harbor and Portland each year, said they continue to make an effort to buy local lobster during stops in Maine.

“It was a positive thing for both sides of the equation,” Elvejord said. “There’s no question that people enjoy eating their lobster, and it’s great to get great local fish, and certainly help out the local lobstermen.”

Read more of this story by Jennifer Van Allen in the Portland Press Herald.

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Let’s celebrate the Maine lobster | Bangor Daily News

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/06/17/opinion/lets-celebrate-the-maine-lobster/

Oysters in Maine: A fishery’s uncertain fate| Maine Sunday Telegram

Oysters in Maine: A fishery’s uncertain fate| Maine Sunday Telegram

Record lobster harvest for state | Maine Sunday Telegram

 

TOURISM IN MAINE: Going beyond moose, lobster and lighthouses | The Morning Sentinel, Waterville, ME

TOURISM IN MAINE: Going beyond moose, lobster and lighthouses | The Morning Sentinel, Waterville, ME.

TOURISM IN MAINE

• The state’s tourism office is funded by 5 percent of the 7 percent tax imposed on meals and lodging.
• The office seeks at least a $2 return in tax revenue on every $1 invested in tourism.
• The average amount of annual paid vacation for international visitors is 4-6 weeks.
• VisitMaine.com, the state’s tourism website, lists top attractions of: dramatic coastline and sandy beaches; more than 3,000 lakes, ponds and rivers; 64 lighthouses; four national scenic byways; distinctive small towns; and the city of Portland as a “top 100 food destination.”
• Most of the tourism’s office’s international marketing is handled through a consortium of states called Discover New England.
• The top international markets for Maine, in order, are Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Source: Maine Office of Tourism

Clawing her way to new heights | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Clawing her way to new heights | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Maine stuff in my California apartment No. 11 — wild blueberries, moose and lobster

These dish towels, about 16 inches by 24 ½ inches, are decorated with the image of one of Maine’s most iconic images, wild blueberries. I received these as a gift from my family years ago. Photo by Keith Michaud

I have not added an installment of this feature for quite some time. That does not mean that I have run out of Maine stuff in my California apartment; it just means I have been distracted by other things.

But I wanted to add this entry before we moved too far beyond the blueberry season, which probably ended about a month or so ago.

Beginning years ago and over the course of several Christmas seasons, my family sent along to me several aprons, oven mitts, and dish towels printed with reminders of Maine. Several, of course, were printed with the famed Maine wild blueberry.

Blueberries are as much a symbol of Maine as are lobster, moose, L.L. Bean, and Patrick Dempsey. (Yes, Dr. McDreamy grew up in Maine and regularly returns to help raise funds for a cancer center in Central Maine.)

It may still be the case – I’m not sure – but once Maine wild blueberries accounted for very nearly all wild blueberries. And by “all,” I mean the entire world’s annual harvest.

So blueberries are something we Mainers, whether living in our homeland or “from away,” discuss with a certain amount of pride.

Here is a closer look at the image on the dish towels. They look nearly good enough to eat. Photo by Keith Michaud

This is one of two oven mitts decorated with wild blueberries that I received from family over the years. There’s a matching mitt … somewhere in my apartment. I’m not exactly sure where it is. Photo by Keith Michaud

An apron decorated with wild blueberries also was among the gifts over the years. Photo by Keith Michaud

Today’s photos include the apron, dish towels and an oven mitt on which Maine blueberries are printed. For full disclosure, the dish towels never have been used as dish towels, simply as ornamental accents in my apartment’s kitchen. And the lone – and rather well used – mitt has a mate, but I cannot seem to find it. I know it is here somewhere, but I’m just not sure where.

By the way, I do have two other aprons on which Maine symbols – on one, lobster, and on the other, moose – are printed.

Wild blueberries are not the only iconic Maine images. Moose are big in Maine, not just in size but in state image value. Here’s an apron decorated with the tall antlered creature. Photo by Keith Michaud

Here’s a closer look at the images on the moose apron. Photo by Keith Michaud

Among the most familiar icons of Maine, of course, is the lobster. And what kind of family would I have if they had not mailed to me an apron decorated with lobster. Photo by Keith Michaud

Here’s a closer look at the images on the lobster apron. Photo by Keith Michaud

This is an occasional multipart series of photos of things related to Maine that can be found in Keith Michaud’s California apartment. All photos in this series are shot by and are the property of Keith Michaud.

Lobster competition came down to chef’s confidence | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Lobster competition came down to chef’s confidence | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Lobster prices hold as catch remains high | Bangor Daily News

Lobster prices hold as catch remains high | Bangor Daily News.

Finalists named for Maine Lobster Chef of the Year | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Finalists named for Maine Lobster Chef of the Year | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

IF YOU GO
What: Maine Lobster Chef of the Year Competition
When: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 22
Where: Ocean View Room at Ocean Gateway, Portland
How much: $55
More info: www.HarvestOnTheHarbor.com

Three tons of lobster perish in Rockland fire | Bangor Daily News

Three tons of lobster perish in Rockland fire | Bangor Daily News.

Matinicus man lobsters by hand — ‘zero-carbon lobster harvesting’ | Bangor Daily News

 Matinicus man lobsters by hand — “zero-carbon lobster harvesting” – Bangor Daily News.

Rockland lobster festival opens Wednesday with free admission | Bangor Daily News

Rockland lobster festival opens Wednesday with free admission – Bangor Daily News

For a full schedule of events visit mainelobsterfestival.com.

Mosquitoes, lobsters and smudge fires aplenty in the Pine Tree State

There are several ways to have Maine-style lobster. The postcard version, of course, is to boil up some water over an open fire on a beach and serve with steamed clams, fresh corn, and lots and lots of butter.

Another Maine style is to set up a newly purchased Coleman camp stove on the driveway of your sister’s Fryeburg home, boil some water, and light up a cigar.

That’s right, light up a cigar.

The last time I visited family in Maine, that’s what happened.

My mother and I had traveled from her home in Aroostook County where I was visiting and we stopped along the way at the Bangor Walmart to pick up the stove. I cannot recall exactly the occasion for the purchase. It might have been a wedding anniversary gift for The Sis and Brother-in-Law Mark.

No matter.

Lobsters were purchased and the water was set to boil on the camp stove set up in my sister’s driveway. (My sister did not want the smell of lobster to linger for days and days in her fairly new home.)

My sister’s home is set back in the woods outside of Fryeburg with plenty of nooks and crannies and ponds and leaves and blades of grass for mosquitoes to flourish. I describe Maine mosquitoes and blackflies this way to my friends “from away” – the mosquitoes and blackflies are so large in Maine that the Federal Aviation Administration issues tail numbers. And requires flight plans.

I do not use “swarm” often, but we were attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes shortly after starting the lobster bath.

At one point I flashed to a memory of my father and mother lighting “smudge fires” in metal barrels and buckets to ward off mosquitoes and blackflies in order to continue outdoor activities. Despite thinking that my sister or mother might object, I offered to retrieve an Arturo Fuente cigar from a stash I had with me on the trip and light it up to be a “human smudge fire.”

“Yes, go! Go get a cigar!” I seem to recall my sister saying.

“Yes, Keith, go!” my mother added. (At least, that’s what I recall now them saying then. I could be wrong.”

So, there I was, standing in my sister’s driveway overseeing the cooking of the crustaceans with a stogy sticking out of the corner of my mouth providing a smudge fire protection for my Mom, The Sis, and her family.

What started all this? The DownEast.com trivia question for the day.

How many species of mosquitoes are native to Maine?

Answer

Although sometimes it seems like millions, Maine is home to about twenty species of human-biting mosquitoes.

I am of the belief that scientists have not classified all the species for 20 seems like a very, very low number. Trust me on this.

Giving China a taste of Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Giving China a taste of Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Lobster industry sees potential in Chinese trade mission | Bangor Daily News

Lobster industry sees potential in Chinese trade mission – Bangor Daily News.

Rockland won’t use taxpayer money to fund Lobster Festival | Bangor Daily News

Rockland won’t use taxpayer money to fund Lobster Festival – Bangor Daily News.

Veterans and novices are shellbent for victory in lobster picking battle | Bangor Daily News

Veterans and novices are shellbent for victory in lobster picking battle – Bangor Daily News

Lobster pot left to rot? That’s one man’s idea | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Lobster pot left to rot? That’s one man’s idea | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

For French group, it’s no ordeal to be stranded in Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

For French group, it’s no ordeal to be stranded in Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Promotion of Maine lobsters seen as fix | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Promotion of Maine lobsters seen as fix | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.