The Briny

The Briny is a podcast about how we’re changing the sea, and how the sea changes us. Each episode is a sound-rich deep dive into the stories that anchor us to the ocean. Produced by Matt Frassica.

Rebuilding the Ladder 10/15/2024

Rebuilding the Ladder Alewife, a species of river herring native to Eastern North America, has been harvested at Maine’s Damariscotta Mills fish ladder since the early 1800s. Two hundred years later, the ladder was falling apart and the numbers of fish making their way upstream to spawn had dwindled. So a group of local residents started raising money to rebuild it. They decided to start a festival devoted to this little fish with a funny name. But would anyone come? Links /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/33467682

The Real Alewives of Kennebec County 06/01/2024

The Real Alewives of Kennebec County Alewife, a fish with a funny name, lives in the ocean and swims upstream to spawn in lakes along the east coast of North America. Historically, their vast populations fed everything from eagles to whales. But human-made obstructions like dams have blocked some of their largest migration routes for centuries. This is the story of how a group of determined citizens cleared one stream in Maine—and waited for the fish to return. Links Additional Music Credits "Our Only Lark" by /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/31556952

Animal Spirits 05/21/2022

Animal Spirits On the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica, a remote beach serves as an ideal place for sea turtles to lay their eggs. The Dominica Sea Turtle Conservation Organization (DomSeTCO) keeps watch over the turtles when they come ashore and protects them from poachers. But after the devastation of Hurricane Maria, DomSeTCO’s organizers knew they needed more than shoestring grants to stay solvent — they needed a business plan. Marine biologist Jake Levenson had an idea that drew on the island’s agricultural strengths: why not try making rum? Links /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/23182508

Fear Is the Thing with Fins 01/11/2021

Fear Is the Thing with Fins After a shark scare when she was a teenager, Pat Gallant-Charette never liked wading past her waist. So when she decided in her 40s to compete in a 2.4-mile ocean swim, she had to suppress her fears. Now an internationally decorated marathon swimmer, Pat still wrestles with anxiety on every swim. And she has seen sharks. But she tells herself: “stay focused, and swim.” /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/17494055

Turn Down for Whales 07/24/2020

Turn Down for Whales Researchers have found that ocean noise is a big problem for underwater life. Human activities like shipping, naval exercises, and oil exploration pump the oceans full of loud noises that marine species haven’t adapted to. So when the global economy ground to a halt due to COVID-19, did the ocean quiet down? /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/15335600

A Quarantine Aquarium 04/02/2020

A Quarantine Aquarium Where do you turn to calm down when you can’t pull your eyes away from your computer screen? Filmmaker Jessica Ellis has a suggestion: aquarium webcams. Watching some swaying kelp or undulating jellies helps her restore mental balance. And she’s not alone. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Ken Peterson, their web traffic is up ten-fold since the start of the pandemic lockdown. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/13812824

#7: The White Whale 12/04/2018

#7: The White Whale Michael Gorman looked up to his older brother Kevin. Kevin was smart, independent, rebellious. He became a commercial fisherman, despite the fact that fishing jobs were drying up. But along the way Kevin developed a heroin addiction that took over his life, and he died of an overdose. Michael’s response to his brother’s death was to write a series of plays that make parallels between Melville’s “Moby Dick” and opiate addiction in the fishing industry. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/7795847

#6: Something Fishy, part 2 10/22/2018

#6: Something Fishy, part 2 Conservation-minded regulations have cut New England’s groundfishing fleet in half. But have they improved the health of the ecosystem? Some fish stocks are recovering, while others - like cod - have continued to decline. And the quota system designed to protect those species creates a perverse incentive: fishermen are throwing dead fish overboard rather than landing them, further damaging the health of the stocks. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/7276001

#5: Something Fishy, part 1 09/18/2018

#5: Something Fishy, part 1 Tim Rider loves to fish, and he does it well: the fish he catches bring top dollar at high-end restaurants in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire for their quality. But even though his operation is a model of ecological stewardship, regulations designed to help rebuild depleted fish stocks in New England are making it hard for small-scale fishermen like Tim to make a living. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/7061127

#4: The Business of Elvers 05/08/2018

#4: The Business of Elvers Why a tiny fish is worth thousands of dollars per pound. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/6571631

#3: The One Who Came Back 11/30/2017

#3: The One Who Came Back Every year, hundreds of Gloucester fishermen went to sea and never returned. Howard Blackburn should have been one of them. His story of survival against the odds made him a local hero, but he didn’t stop there. He went on to perform one of the great feats of seafaring - and then he did it again. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/5995990

#2: Fish Camp 09/30/2017

#2: Fish Camp Jeff and Deb Sandler (a.k.a. Mr. and Mrs. Fish) couldn’t stand each other when they met - they were rivals for the job of education director of Maine’s Portland Aquarium. Four decades later, they’ve traveled all over the world getting kids excited about marine biology with a mix of theater, slapstick comedy, and songs. Along the way, they fell in love. Now they’ve reached the last week of Fish Camp, and they’re getting ready to hang up their flippers. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/5793790

Whales of New York 08/18/2017

Whales of New York Hundreds of years of hunting decimated whale populations around the world. More than 50 years since global whaling restrictions were put in place, the North Atlantic right whale is still on the verge of extinction. Other species have begun to bounce back - notably humpback whales, which have returned to the waters around New York City. But now they face a new danger: swimming in the East Coast’s busiest shipping lanes. /episode/index/show/thebriny/id/5656857

The Briny

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