Category: Blog

Slow, unreliable broadband is a problem for all of Maine’s unbridged islands. Since the launch of the Island Institute broadband connectivity project a year ago, I’ve learned that while the 15 islands face many of the same challenges, they each bring their unique approach to solving these problems. Their progress bringing faster internet to their communities has been astoundingly thoughtful and quick.

Joanne’s Angels had been plagued with a never ending slew of mishaps which forced Zach Lunt to pull his boat out for almost three months. Those three months without a boat in the water meant no income for him and his stern man while having to wrestle with a heap of unplanned expenses. This is a part of being a captain of a lobster boat that many don’t think about; I certainly didn’t until I saw the process unfold in front of me.

On Swan’s Island, Brian and Kathy Krafjack got the right financing to expand their island store and begin grocery delivery to Frenchboro.

The lobster: one of the most iconic creatures in Maine. Mainers and tourists alike enjoy this tasty crustacean, but many are unaware of the changing conditions and pressures that face lobstermen out on the water every day. With new ocean development, increased shipping and recreational traffic, and changing ecosystems, there are many things lobstermen have to consider nowadays. 

I joined other ocean stakeholders from New England, and travelled to Washington D.C. this week. We were there to meet with congressional delegation about the upcoming release of the Nation’s first regional ocean plan under the National Ocean Policy.

The National Ocean Policy, established by Presidential Executive Order in 2010, called for the formation of nine regional planning bodies to better manage our oceans and coasts. Ocean planning is a way to make better, more efficient decisions about different ocean uses such as fishing, offshore energy and recreation as well as accounting for environmental changes and the health of the ocean and its creatures.

This blog series is a resource for island and coastal small businesses. To find other buoyant stories, go to the blog home page and select “economic development” from the drop down menu to filter blog posts by this topic, or go to islandinstitute.org/blog/economic

We’re excited to share with you a partner initiative with Ramblers Way Farm. The pioneering clothing company’s employees will contribute 5% of their paid work hours volunteering for the Island Institute. This new partnership supports the company’s good-natured ethos, and bolsters efforts of the Island Institute toward Maine’s island and remote coastal communities. As natives to Maine, the Chappell Family Founders of Ramblers Way Farm have long been committed to supporting the Island Institute.

I wasn’t there for more than two days when I realized that I had picked up conversations with islanders on Mota Lava in almost the same places I had left them with islanders in Maine. I hadn’t left work behind, I’d just added palm trees.