WORKING WATERFRONT • October 19, 2026
In September, the coastline off Brunswick and Harpswell transformed into a scene out of a horror film. First, water around local mudflats turned unusually brown. State and local officials then warned of a spreading bloom of Karenia mikimotoi, a type of phytoplankton. The bloom spread quickly and proved devastating. A Sept. 8 Facebook reel shared by the Harpswell fisheries and marine resources committees showed a mudflat littered with dead worms and clams. Local officials closed the flats to protect the juvenile shellfish that survived. The bloom, which has since dissipated off Brunswick, has also spread to the waters off Port Clyde. As of mid-October, it appeared to be dissipating in most areas of coastal Maine.