On Friday, November 1, staff and volunteers from over a dozen local businesses and organizations took time off from work to pick up trash along the shoreline of the Damariscotta River.

Representatives from Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, University of Maine Darling Marine Center, First National Bank, First National Wealth Management, Cheney Insurance, Blackstone Point Oysters, Dodge Cove Marine Farm, Glidden Point Oyster Farms, Heron Island Oysters, Mook Sea Farm, Norumbega Oyster, Pemaquid Oyster Company, and Pleasant Cove Oysters split up in boats belonging to local shellfish farms to cover different areas of the river.

Together, participants collected over 1,320 pounds of trash and four tires, as well as a substantial quantity of oyster farming gear, much of which growers are able to reuse.

The clean-up is an opportunity both to collect lost aquaculture gear at the end of the growing season and a measure to preserve water quality for aquaculture, recreation, and wildlife.