Cobscook Bay

Cobscook Bay. Downeast Fisheries Trail. , Cobscook Bay is one of Maine’s special places. Its huge tides (averaging 28 feet but sometimes surging to 30 feet) its cold nutrient rich waters, convoluted and largely undeveloped shoreline, vast intertidal areas provide habitat for a wide array of species. Bald eagles abound, waterfowl find refuge, and shorebirds feed here. Less obvious is the rich and diverse food web found in its waters. Commercially important species, such as clams and scallops, little known species like the hydroid and ribbon worms, and creatures still unknown, all make their contributions to this complex ecosystem., The tide is of central importance to Cobscook's natural processes. Twice a day enough water to fill a third of the Bay's volume floods in and then ebbs out again. This is roughly the same volume of water that flows out of the mouth of the Mississippi River during the same time period! The incoming tide carries nutrients from the deep waters of the Gulf of Maine providing the foundation for the Bay's food web. (In contrast the freshwater entering the Bay from three small rivers is equal to about only 1% of this volume.) How this salt water circulates within the Bay determines what, where and how well things grow, as well as what gets flushed out on the receding tide., For thousands of years people have inhabited Cobscook's shores and used its abundant natural resources to sustain themselves. Compared to other estuaries in the eastern United States, Cobscook has suffered relatively little degradation by fishery development. Today about 7000 people reside the nine communities around the Bay: one city, five towns, two unorganized townships and one Native American tribe reservation. These communities are actively engaged in the challenge of integrating the conservation of this remarkably productive natural resource with the development of a healthy local economy., [Text obscured], When Washington County clam harvests plummeted by 1984, local residents became concerned. People living in communities bordering Cobscook Bay worked to increase the productivity of the Bay’s clam flats by reseeding the flats with juvenile clams and cleaning up pollution. Over 2000 acres previously closed to harvest were opened in the late 1990s., Visit other sites on the Downeast Fisheries Trail in Milbridge, Machias and Lubec. Look tor brochures locally, or call the Washington County Promotions Board @ 255-3656 or 1-800-377-9748 to receive a copy