Rising Tides - Adapting to Coastal Maine's Future
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Rising Tides: Adapting to Coastal Maine’s Future captures the voices of people living and working along Maine’s changing coast. Through long-form conversations with oyster farmers and other aquaculturalists, fishermen, scientists, and community leaders, the series explores how environmental, economic, and cultural forces are reshaping the working waterfront.
Maine’s coast sits on the frontlines of global change. Warming waters, shifting fisheries, new industries, and increasing pressure on access and infrastructure are transforming ways of life that have endured for generations. Rather than focusing on headlines or ideology, Rising Tides listens closely to lived experience – how people are adapting, what is being lost, and what might still be preserved.
These are local stories with global relevance, told thoughtfully and without haste, offering insight into the challenges and possibilities facing coastal communities in Maine and beyond.
11 Episodes
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Send a text Maine’s working waterfronts are evolving, as aquaculture, climate change, and shifting access reshape how coastal communities make a living. In this episode of Rising Tides, Bill Perna speaks with Abby Barrows about her path from environmental science into oyster farming, and what that shift reveals about the future of Maine’s coast. Abby reflects on why she chose to buy an oyster farm on Deer Isle, what makes that particular stretch of water unique, and the practical challenges o...
Send a text Maine has abundant, sustainably managed fisheries, yet much of that fish never reaches local plates. In this episode of Rising Tides, Bill Perna speaks with Ben Martens about why disconnects between fishing, markets, and access continue to shape who benefits from Maine’s coastal resources. Ben reflects on how working waterfront access, unstable markets, and shifting priorities affect fishing communities, even when fish stocks are healthy. Their conversation explores efforts to str...
Send a text Decisions made today will shape Maine’s coast for decades to come. In this episode of Rising Tides, Bill Perna speaks with Bill Mook about how science, regulation, and long-term thinking influence the future of the working waterfront. Bill Mook reflects on the role of research and governance in managing coastal change, from aquaculture development to broader environmental pressures in the Gulf of Maine. Their conversation explores how evidence, public process, and collaboration he...
Send a text Maine’s coastal future is being shaped by people adapting in real time. In this opening episode of Rising Tides, Bill Perna speaks with oyster farmer Jeff Auger about the forces reshaping the working waterfront. Jeff reflects on his path into aquaculture and the realities of building a livelihood on the water today. Together, they discuss cooperation between fishermen, farmers, regulators, and coastal communities, and how environmental change, access, and local knowledge increasin...
Send a text Eric Oransky grew up in Freeport, Maine. He spent a lot of time on Casco Bay. When he was 21, he apprenticed with the Scottish master cabinet maker James Bowie for furniture making in northern California. In 2007, at 23, Eric moved back to Maine and started his first business, all the while spending time on the water any chance he got. He focused on woodworking, including furniture, and building for about seven years. He found he missed working on the water. So, in 201...
Send a text This episode is part of a series of long-form conversations exploring Maine aquaculture and the people working on and alongside the water. Through firsthand experience and lived perspective, the podcast looks at how environmental, economic, and community forces shape Maine’s working waterfront. Perna Content's Rising Tides explores how coastal Maine is adapting to environmental, economic, and cultural change through long-form conversations with people working on and alongside the ...
Send a text This episode is part of a series of long-form conversations exploring Maine aquaculture and the people working on and alongside the water. Through firsthand experience and lived perspective, the podcast looks at how environmental, economic, and community forces shape Maine’s working waterfront. Perna Content's Rising Tides explores how coastal Maine is adapting to environmental, economic, and cultural change through long-form conversations with people working on and alongside the ...
Send a text George Parr has been in the seafood business for four decades. He has been instrumental in creating the reputation of Maine oysters. George takes a firm stand when buyers “From Away” come to Maine and try to drive down oyster prices rather than pay a fair price for what many consider to be among the world’s best oysters. His sense of fairness has benefited not just his clients but all of Maine’s oyster growers. George came to Maine from New York City He is candid, funny, and direc...
Send a text In 2010, Abigail Carroll started NONESUCH oysters. It began as a small oyster farm in a nature conservancy in Scarborough, Maine, which just south of Portland. Today Nonesuch Oyster is an award-winning company whose oysters are in found top restaurants across the country. NONESUCH also offers a range of healthy Maine seafood and handmade skincare products made with Maine marine ingredients. Perna Content's Rising Tides explores how coastal Maine is adapting to environmental,...
Send a text Today we are with Bill Mook, an industry pioneer who is the founder of Mook Sea Farm, an oyster farm on the Damariscotta River. Bill has been recognized by the Gulf of Maine Council's Sustainable Industry Awards for his efforts to improve the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and the coastal communities. He was a member of the Maine Ocean Acidification Commission that convened, wrote, and submitted a report to the Maine Legislature on the effects of coastal and ocean acidificat...
Send a text This episode is part of a series of long-form conversations exploring Maine aquaculture and the people working on and alongside the water. Through firsthand experience and lived perspective, the podcast looks at how environmental, economic, and community forces shape Maine’s working waterfront. Perna Content's Rising Tides explores how coastal Maine is adapting to environmental, economic, and cultural change through long-form conversations with people working on and alongside the ...
Send a text This episode is part of a series of long-form conversations exploring Maine aquaculture and the people working on and alongside the water. Through firsthand experience and lived perspective, the podcast looks at how environmental, economic, and community forces shape Maine’s working waterfront. Perna Content's Rising Tides explores how coastal Maine is adapting to environmental, economic, and cultural change through long-form conversations with people working on and alongside the ...
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