Rockweed: Habitat, “manure” or bovine Viagra?
Ascophyllum nodosum — more commonly known as rockweed — is an intertidal seaweed that grows along our rocky Maine coast. This innocuous-looking brown alga serves as habitat and food for more than one hundred species of fish, crustaceans, and birds. It is also harvested for human food, fertilizer, and other value-added products. Currently, rockweed harvest is a hot topic — should the rockweed industry and ecology be managed? Is access to the intertidal zone across private property legal?
Dive into these questions and more in this Ellsworth American column by Tom Walsh of Gouldsboro.