Dear Editor:

OceansWide would like to spotlight our friends in the Boothbay Harbor community and give a huge thanks for their continued dedication to the area. Without their help none of us would be able to reap the benefits which have been cultivated based on community respect and mutual goals of environmental restoration.

During 2021 and 2022 the people and businesses here were greatly supportive of our ongoing Ghost Trap Removal Pilot Project. We sincerely appreciate the generosity and kindness given to us by the owners of the Boothbay Lobster Wharf, the good folks within the local lobstering community as well as the local US Coast Guard, and Maine Marine Patrol.

We especially thank the Eastside Waterfront Park, which has given the OceansWide Ghost Trap Removal Pilot Project access to offload the defunct traps our divers and boat crews have successfully removed from the seafloor. The clear advantage of having access to the Park’s wharf has made the logistics of processing nearly 3,000 ghost traps recovered from the waters around Boothbay Harbor (Linekin Bay, Townsend Gut and extending out around Squirrel and Ram Islands) viable. Without this location, it would have been impossible for us to land the nearly 135,000 pounds of marine debris, on this extremely busy waterfront.

Many thanks to Devyn Campbell. Because of his local knowledge, his unrelenting Maine work ethic, and the use of his boat, Susan and Jessica, his commitment to our project has been pivotal in the removal, transport, and disposal of the recovered traps and other marine debris.

Once traps are brought to the wharf, we collect data which is extremely helpful in returning workable traps to their owners and will give us insight into the age, condition of the traps, and other pertinent information. We use our findings to develop precise and necessary information to create more robust grant submissions- a huge advantage when undertaking such a monumental endeavor.

The OceansWide Ghost Trap Removal Pilot Project in Boothbay Harbor has been a huge success thanks to those listed above and because of this achievement we plan to expand our efforts throughout coastal Maine.

Campbell "Buzz" Scott

OceansWide President