In The News

Though Canada has placed tariffs on an initial round of U.S. goods worth some $30 billion, lobster is not on that list. Still, some members of the industry and economic experts worry that broader global economy uncertainty may drive down demand for the product in Maine.

When last year’s winter storms devastated the coast, Sam Belknap’s family wharf on Round Pond harbor in Bristol was saved by its concrete floor. The floor, which Belknap’s family poured years ago when they put in a seafood processing room, provided enough weight to keep most of the wharf from floating away.

A new coalition is coming together to support Maine’s growing aquaculture industry, aiming to clear up misconceptions and highlight the economic and environmental benefits of seafood farming.

Island Institute, a Rockland nonprofit, launched an online electric boat toolkit to help marine business and coastal municipalities transition to electric marine propulsion and away from traditional diesel or gas motors. 

A marine scientist, a politician and a lobsterman walked onto a dock. Together, in frigid wind chill, they pulled experimental, ropeless lobstering gear from the water — gear that most lobstermen loathe. The Maine Department of Marine Resources held its first public demonstration day last Tuesday, where anyone — in and out of the industry — could see how the gear, still being developed, might work. And for some lobstermen, it felt like the first time the state was listening.

Walking along the fishermen's co-op dock, Sam Belknap says it is a model for what the Maine coast must do to build resilience in the face of climate change. "This is the type of investment all wharves need to be making," he explained. Belknap is director of coastal economy for the Island Institute of Rockland, a nonprofit organization that has been helping coastal areas with economic and community development for the past 40 years.

In 2021, the city of Eastport, with support from Island Institute, was awarded an Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project grant from the Department of Energy with , which funded work to develop localized energy generation and storage. Now, a community-driven initiative is developing solar and tidal power to feed a microgrid. It would allow the island community to weather hours of outages, detached from the main electrical grid without the high costs and carbon footprint of diesel. The grant launched the feasibility studies and produced the plans for the transition that Eastport is in the middle of building out.

Nine months after damaging storms in January heavily impacted Maine's coastal communities, recovery is still top of mind. The issue is being put back at the forefront for state legislators. In Bremen on Tuesday, Island Institute hosted a roundtable between leaders from Maine's working waterfronts, Sen. Angus King, and Rep. Chellie Pingree.

Five Maine communities have been selected for a federal program designed to support energy transitions in rural coastal and island communities. Brooklin, Chebeague Island, Cranberry Isles, Passamaquoddy Tribe at the Pleasant Point Reservation and Washington County will get technical and planning assistance to make their energy systems more resilient.

The Island Institute in Rockland has received $1.4 million to support Maine's lobstering industry through a new initiative. The funding comes from the Small Business Administration as congressionally-directed funding and was championed by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King...