Downeast Fisheries Trail
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Taunton Bay Gateway

Route 1, Hancock and Sullivan

This is the western gateway to the Schoodic National Scenic Byway. To the north, Taunton Bay opens into a shallow basin where eelgrass and seaweed form a protective nursery for the nation’s northernmost population of horseshoe crabs and numerous other species. The protection afforded by the landscape surrounding the bay, coupled with extensive tidal flats, make for an ideal place for harvesting blue mussels, soft-shelled clams, and marine worms as well as lobsters, river herring, American eel, and green sea urchins. When the bridge was replaced in the early 2000s, the new, higher structure allowed taller vessels to enter into the Bay, including draggers, fishing vessels that pull weighted nets to harvest bottom-dwelling species like mussels. The Maine legislature, responding to concerns about the unknown impacts of dragging, imposed a temporary moratorium on dragging in the bay.  This effectively triggered a multi-year discussion on how to best managed Taunton Bay for the health of the resource as well as the viability of the fishing families who rely on the bay to make a living. Today, harvesters work together with other members of the community to manage the bay’s resources.

207.667.7131 | www.schoodicbyway.org

Year-round. Parking. Outhouse. Accessible. Interpretive signs. 

Schoodic byway entrance
Taunton Bay signage
Signage and bridge
Cardinal Lobster Pound
Cardinal Lobster Pound
Lobster pound 1926, Hancock
Lobster car 1926
Buying lobster 1926
Boiling lobster 1926

 

Sources & Links
 

Schoodic National Scenic Byway 

Friends of Taunton Bay 

Taunton Bay Education Center  

Taunton Bay Advisory Group and Management Plan 

Horseshoes of Taunton Bay, Downeast Magazine, May 2011 

Ellsworth High School Local Fisheries Knowledge Project (part of the NOOA Voices from the Fisheries project), interview with local fishing family:
Interview with Heath & Lee Hudson (PDF) 

Ellsworth High School Local Fisheries Knowledge Project (part of the NOOA Voices from the Fisheries project), interview with Maine Shellfish Company:
Interview with Bob Hessler (PDF) 

 

 

Trail Sites

  • Abbe Museum
  • Bad Little Falls Park
  • Bar Harbor Town Park
  • Bar Harbor Town Pier
  • Beals Heritage Center
  • Bucksport Waterfront
  • Cable Pool Park
  • Carryingplace Cove
  • Cobscook Bay Resource Center
  • Cobscook Bay State Park
  • Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery
  • Deer Isle – Stonington Historical Society
  • Downeast Institute
  • Frazer Point
  • Frenchman Bay Overlook
  • Frenchman Bay Scenic Turnout
  • Gleason Cove Park
  • Gordon’s Wharf
  • Great Harbor Maritime Museum
  • Green Lake National Fish Hatchery
  • Henry Cove
  • Islesford Historical Museum
  • Jonesport Historical Society
  • Long Cove
  • Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (formerly Penobscot East Resource Center)
  • Maine Coast Sardine History Museum
  • McCurdy’s Smokehouse
  • Milbridge Historical Museum
  • Milbridge Town Marina
  • Morong Cove
  • Mount Desert Oceanarium
  • Naskeag Point
  • Otter Cove
  • Penobscot Marine Museum
  • Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory & Fort Knox
  • Peter Gray Hatchery
  • Pleasant River Hatchery
  • Prospect Harbor
  • Quoddy Head State Park
  • Roosevelt-Campobello International Park
  • Shackford Head State Park
  • Somesville Mill Pond
  • Taunton Bay Gateway
  • Tidal Falls
  • Waponahki Museum & Resource Center

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The Downeast Fisheries Trail consists of 45 locations from Penobscot Bay, Maine, to Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick, that showcase active and historic fisheries heritage sites, such as fish hatcheries, aquaculture facilities, fishing harbors, clam flats, processing plants, historical societies, community centers, parks, and other related places. The Trail is an effort to raise awareness among residents and visitors of the importance of the region’s maritime heritage and the role of marine resources to the area’s economy. The Trail builds on these local resources to strengthen community life and the experience of visitors.

For a printed map-brochure of the Trail, please call 207.581.1435.

Download the web version of the map-brochure. (6.8 MB)

For more information about the Downeast Fisheries Trail, email or call 207.288.2944 x5834.

Downeast Fisheries Trail Brochure Map - Web Version

Downeast Fisheries Trail Brochure Map - Web Version

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