BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 8, 2022
Chris Green, 50, has dug clams on Middle Bay’s intertidal mudflats for a long time. “All my life.” He’s seen a lot of changes. “The biggest change would be dwindling access,” Green said. “Number two is the warming water.” Rising water temperatures have meant more clams and longer digging seasons. But they have also brought more clam predators like green crabs and milky ribbon worms. Tracking those kinds of long-term changes on Middle Bay — and the rest of greater Casco Bay’s intertidal areas — is the focus of a new online information portal launched by the Greater Portland Council of Governments and the Casco Bay Regional Shellfish Working Group.