This image shows a dead whale in Vinalhaven’s Carver’s Harbor in 1918. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

What created Maine’s brief whaling industry

Menhaden, also referred to as pogies or mossbunkers, are currently one of several species of bait fish used in the lobster industry. Historically, these fish were harvested for entirely different purposes: leather production and agriculture. By the mid-19th century, numerous oil processing plants were established in Maine to refine menhaden… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Passamaquoddy Tribe secures $4.3 million

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has announced a $4.3 million grant to the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township in Princeton. The tribe plans to build an aquaculture facility to farm eels as an alternative to wild harvesting. The award was one of eight across the nation made… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Valuing education for the tourism economy

Collaboration, creative problem solving, and caring leadership—all are taught within the University of Southern Maine’s Tourism & Hospitality program as part of a student’s education in sustainable tourism management. And with good reason. The Bachelor of Arts in Tourism & Hospitality Management at USM is unique in that thinking about… SEE MORE

The crew of the FV Nicole Leigh unloads its catch in Portland.

Working Waterfront

Fishermen feeding Mainers expands reach

The Fishermen Feeding Mainers program provided financial relief to fishermen at a time when seafood markets were either shuttered or shaky, while also supplying food banks and families in need with seafood that was otherwise going unsold. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lobster Institute names new director

Since 1987 the Lobster Institute has been a center of discovery, innovation and outreach at UMaine with the goal of promoting, conducting, and communicating research focused on the sustainability of the American lobster fishery in the U.S. and Canada. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

That New England spirit in literature

grandfather, Sanford “Dick” Lunt. Writing, producing, and selling Hauling by Hand was a crash course in publishing. Dean Lunt said, “We used that book to learn about book design, cover design, distribution, sales.” SEE MORE

Knasic Byer checks fluid on a truck in the automotive shop.

Working Waterfront

The next generation of workers is here

There is far more interest in the diverse programs the school offers than it can accommodate, Deetjen says, with, for example, 60 applying for the small engine program which can only include 16. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

For our towns, when are the ‘good old days’?

Do communities have their “good old days?” Do they peak? And if so, how do we measure the qualities that contribute to that status? SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Learning from one town’s pioneering spirit

Down the Pemaquid Peninsula and bordering Muscongus Bay sits the small coastal town of Bremen. According to the town’s website, Bremen was “founded in 1828 by pioneers and fishermen.” I can’t fully picture what those early pioneers encountered along the coast or what they imagined their futures to be. I… SEE MORE

Hancock Street in Portland. PHOTO: MICHELE STAPLETON

Working Waterfront

The transformation of Portland’s eastern waterfront

Along the eastern waterfront, even more changes will come. A development company plans to build hundreds of housing units, retail space, a luxury hotel and a huge parking garage on land that formerly housed the historic Portland Co. at the end of Thames Street. SEE MORE