The Miss Maine competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Maine in the Miss America pageant.

Maine has been represented in the pageant since 1937, although the state has never produced a winner.

In 2015, pageant contestant Marisa Butler attracted controversy for her volunteer role catching and tagging sharks with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Butler was staging bikini shot pictures after dragging sharks onto the beach to be tagged - a practice considered by experts to be harmful.

Butler responded to the criticism on Facebook, writing: "I am working towards spreading awareness and changing public opinion about sharks.