SEARSPORT – A satellite map of the Bagaduce River was on display last week at the announcement of a newly-formed organization of business and environmental concerns called Friends of Penobscot Bay. Over the photographic image of the waterway, which runs past Castine, bright blue areas indicated the location of mussel beds.

The data came from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, but according to a biologist affiliated with FPB, the mussels aren't there anymore.

"I'm not sure what's driving that," said Ron Huber, a longtime activist for the preservation of Sears Island and other environmental causes around Penobscot Bay, adding that the disappearing mussels is one of a number of mysteries the group hopes to answer.

The wider view shared among members of FPB is that the ecosystem of the bay is changing for the worse, starting at the shoreline, where runoff from development and industry come into contact with the diatoms, protozoa and other lifeforms at the bottom of the bay's food chain.

"The shallows are really the place where the action is," Huber said.

The legacy of industrial pollution is well documented by the state, Huber said, but the resources haven’t been there to deal with many of the sites. The effect of more recent residental development on the waterfront has been harder to quantify, but Huber and others in FPB agree that the regions transformation from a sleepy outpost of Vacationland to a hotspot for waterfront properties hasn’t been good for the bay.

Despite the potential boon to businesses this influx of money has brought, those that rely on the bay have come to share some of the same concerns as the environmentalists. The makeup of FPB reflects this twist on the usual activist vs.commerce plotline.

Sheila Dassatt, Executive Director of the Downeast Lobsterman's Association listed the acidification of local waters, and also the safety of fishermen, among reasons her group is part of FPB.

"When you're handling water, were seeing things we've never seen before this year," she said. "We've seen fishermen with open cuts come up with things that aren't healthy."

Like Dassatt, Rob Iserbyt, of Rockport, became concerned about the bay as a result of his own observations. The Rockport Charters captain said he’s seen a proliferation of seaweed, and through his mooring and dive work, has also gained insight into what’s happening below the surface.

"I've seen big changes," he said. "I don't want to say they're negative changes but they're huge and if they were happening above ground we'd be doing something about it."

Iserbyt said the appeal of the Maine coast has raised property values and the parallel rise in property taxes has benefitted towns. "But it's starting to take a toll on what people come here for," he said. "... Coastal development does kill fisheries."

Huber said FPB is not a new idea — an earlier attempt to align environmental groups under the banner of the Penobscot Bay Alliance failed, he recalled, because the factions could agree on goals.

"Since then, I've been more of a loose cannon environmentalist," he said. "But it's difficult to have standing in some places when you're by yourself."

Huber has been outspoken (sometimes flamboyantly so) in his efforts to protect Sears Island from development. And while he said being a lone voice is “never an excuse for inaction,” Huber reasoned that working with a group would lend more weight to causes he has championed.

And occasionally hold the cannon steady.

Astrig Tanguay, co-owner of Searsport Shores campground with her husband Steve, brought a prepared statement to the Sears Island causeway where the announcement was made on Thursday, but in light of a small turnout at the event, reserved her role to occasionally pleading with Huber not to say things like "eco-yuppies," and "tourist junk shops."

Asked what the priorities for Friends of Penobscot Bay would be, Huber mentioned the pollutants from old industrial sites in the bay watershed. The group might also try to document how the coastline has changed, he said, and of course gather clues on the disappearance of Bagaduce mussel beds.

Conversations with other members of the coalition suggested there was probably a long list.

"You look at the bay," Huber said, "and if you were a used car salesman, you'd say it's a good fixer upper."

Friends of Penobscot Bay have reserved the web domain www.penbay.net. The site is currently under construction.