Category: In the news

People who work the sea say Maine’s climate is changing, and the evidence is all around them. Mid-Atlantic species in Maine coastal waters is just one piece of the evidence that a changing climate, with warmer ocean waters, is already having an impact here. Cousens, the former president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, says he has been tracking sea surface temperatures in the waters of Penobscot Bay, just off his home in South Thomaston, for the past 40 years.

It was a sharp, windy March day, but the gray water of Casco Bay glimmered green in the sun. On his lobster boat, the Pull N’ Pray, Justin Papkee scanned the surface of the ocean, searching for his buoys. But he wasn’t looking for lobster traps. Mr. Papkee was farming, not fishing: His crop, clinging to ropes beneath the cold waves, was seaweed, thousands of pounds of brownish kelp undulating under the surface. Growing at a rate of 4 to 6 inches per day for the past six months, it was nearly ready to be harvested and sent to restaurants like Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Estela, Houseman, Saint Julivert Fisherie and Luke’s Lobster in New York, and Honey Paw, Chaval and the Purple House here in Maine.

Governor Janet Mills announced today that she has introduced bipartisan legislation to create the Maine Climate Council. The Climate Council will develop the action plan and timetable to meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, to promote jobs and economic benefits for Maine people in the transition to a lower carbon economy, and to support the climate resiliency of Maine’s communities.

Downtown Vinalhaven sits on a mix of quarried rocks subject to erosion and vulnerable to inundation. When a selectman raised concerns in 2015 about “the inevitability of sea-level rise,” the board acknowledged, “We have to start talking about this; we have to form a committee,” recalls Vinalhaven Town Manager Andrew Dorr. Dorr turned for help to the school, where students working on a climate curriculum began preliminary research and modeled inundation using a gingerbread town. After they presented findings to the board of selectmen, the town sought a grant to obtain an engineering assessment of its harbor area.

From shellfish growers and farmers to doctors and home-grown clean energy businesses, a wide range of Mainers testified today in support of a bipartisan bill to spark action on climate change. “An Act to Limit Greenhouse Gas Pollution and Effectively Use Maine’s Natural Resources” (LD 797) would set Maine on a clear path forward for tackling climate change by reducing carbon pollution and growing local economies, while protecting families and businesses from the worst effects of the changing climate. Read more in this news release from the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

Since its inception in 2015, Island Institute’s Aquaculture Business Development program has had 75 individuals go through the program, with 20 starting businesses that have contributed an estimated $3.1 million to Maine’s economy. By 2020, the program’s goal is to have helped start 60 businesses with an overall impact on Maine’s economy totaling $36 million. The Island Institute is accepting applications for its 2019 Aquaculture Business Development program. The free program helps fishermen and those from fishing communities gain the tools they need to diversify and launch small-scale aquaculture businesses.

Maine’s coastal and island communities are a valuable component of Maine’s identity and economy. Seventy-one percent of Maine’s tourist spending, $4 billion, is spent along the coast each year. Fisheries are a top employer. In 2017, lobster landings accounted for $433 million in value to the state. Together with Maine’s island and coastal leaders, the Island Institute is focused on catalyzing a future where families and the environment can thrive. By emphasizing programs that develop strong community economies, enhance education and leadership, and deliver solutions, the Island Institute is helping to ensure that Maine’s island and coastal communities continue to be an essential ingredient in the recipe that makes Maine a place everyone can live, work, and flourish.

A new report from the Island Institute reveals that 10 Maine coastal communities with lowest incomes are in downeast Washington County while the 10 communities with highest incomes are in Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties. The report also shows that employment in the 30 coastal and island communities in Maine with the lowest incomes are almost five times as likely to be dominated by fishing, farming and forestry as by any other field. The Island Institute’s 2018 edition of “Waypoints: Livelihoods on Maine’s Coast and Islands” is a first-time look at a range of coastal community employment indicators, according to the Rockland-based nonprofit.

With the help of a fellowship at Peaks Island Elementary School, students will learn how to become better stewards of not just their own island community, but the planet as a whole. There will also be a renewed focus on ways to live more sustainability, and making intergenerational connections with the island’s older residents, according to Kelly Hasson, the new teacher leader of both the Peaks and Cliff Island schools. Under the two-year fellowship, the Peaks Island community will have someone committed full time to implement an Edible Schoolyard project while also crafting a plan for better, more supportive aging-in-place programs for seniors.