other fishery products . Clams were canned in Brooklin , South Blue Hill , and Whiting . The Whiting cannery may have been the first to pack steamed clams in the US and operates today as a shellfish dealer and processor .
Abundant Natural Resources # 1 in the world
10,000 + years
Wild blueberries have thrived on the sandy glacial outwash plains of Downeast Maine for 10,000 +/ - years .
702,654 acres
The lobster fishery is the number one marine resource industry in all of Maine , with Stonington and Jonesport being the largest supplier of lobster in the world .
A total of 702,654 acres has been conserved in Downeast Maine . 19.6 % is held in some type of conservation status .
420 million years old
In some areas the granite in Downeast Maine is believed to be more than 420 million years old .
Clamming is an important year-round source of income for many families today . Clammers dig in the deep , glacially deposited mud beds wherever clams are abundant and weather , tide , and harvesting restrictions allowed . Down East Institute in Beals , Maine ’ s first public shellfish hatchery , was formed in the 1980s to address concerns over decreasing soft-shell clam harvests . The Institute cultivates commercially important shellfish seed to restore and create economic opportunities for harvesters , aquaculturists , and other entrepreneurs .
Atlantic salmon are an iconic species of the Northeast and were of great cultural and historical importance to the Wabanaki Tribes , as well as a source of food . Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic salmon returned to spawn in Downeast rivers each year . These runs were severely depleted by the early 19th century and continued to decline through the first half of the 20th century . Dams and other impediments , overfishing , and pollution are significant factors . By the mid-20th century , the primary distribution of wild Atlantic Salmon in the U . S . was limited to the eastern third of Maine ’ s coast .
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