York Beach

A great white shark sighting near Biddeford beaches led officials to prohibit swimming for the rest of the day. It was the latest in a series of shark sightings along the Maine coast.

However, numerous fishermen say the assessment of a decline in the stock doesn't match what they're seeing on the water, where haddock appear to them to be plentiful.

The black substance was staining the feet of people at the beach, prompting one local resident to alert state officials.

The state's Department of Environmental Services and Fish and Game announced effective Friday, Aug. 9 the ban on harvest of shellfish due to “red tide” is lifted for all species of shellfish except surf clams.The harvest closure went into effect May 9 for the Atlantic Ocean and Hampton/Seabrook Harbor in response to elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, commonly known as red tide, detected in blue mussels collected from Hampton/Seabrook

Deaths of gray and harbor seals, in much greater numbers than usual, have been attributed to viruses related to distemper and the flu.

Biologists say plentiful food and other conditions are helping the rodents to thrive, and now the young ones are hitting the road.

Marine mammal experts are testing tissue samples for a potential common cause of the surge in carcasses found on the state's beaches this year.

The smelly carcass, identified as that of an adult male minke whale, is the second large marine animal to turn up on shore in southern Maine in the past week.

The polar bear is a powerful symbol of the effects of climate change in the Arctic.  Here in New England, our symbol may soon be the sugar maple tree.