Mixed use or conflicting uses? An early winter scene in Boothbay Harbor captures the fishing industry’s presence along with nearby tourism-related buildings.

Working Waterfront

The last fisherman?

Analysis by Edgar Allen Beem When it comes to the working waterfront, there always seems to be someone with a big idea that doesn’t quite fit with existing ordinances and practices. Recently, a pair of hotel proposals had residents of Boothbay Harbor and Portland wrestling with the endless challenge of… SEE MORE

A cruise ship at Eastport's breakwater pier.

Working Waterfront

And there are cruise ships, too, in Eastport

By Tom Walsh Cruise ship traffic can be both a blessing and a curse for Maine ports. Visitors who come ashore—at times thousands of passengers and crew—represent millions of dollars in local seasonal revenues. The same visitors can also overwhelm a small community, as has happened in Bar Harbor. Eastport’s… SEE MORE

Wind turbine blades stacked at the Port of Eastport.

Working Waterfront

Putting the ‘port’ back in Eastport

By Tom Walsh Maine’s Downeast coastline is so far north and so far east that northern Europe seems just over the horizon. Which it is. Washington County’s Port of Eastport is among three deep-water ports on the Maine coast. The two others are in Portland and Searsport. Eastport’s Port Authority… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Energy leaders urge new governor to focus on transportation

TOM GROENING Participants at a December energy conference discuss issues during a break-out session. By Tom Groening Even before newly elected Gov. Janet Mills stepped into the room, participants in the Acadia Center’s Dec. 7 conference were buzzing about what they believe will be an administration receptive to bold new… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Shetterly’s Seaweed Chronicles explores history of plunder

Review by Carl Little One April day some 25 years ago, fine mesh fyke nets suddenly appeared in the estuary that leads to the Somesville Mill Pond. The market for elvers—glass eels favored by Japanese diners—had exploded, with astronomical per-pound prices driving the new fishery. As they had with urchins,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

ReVision Energy is reinventing energy economy

TOM GROENING John Luft opens a box of photovoltaic panels at ReVision Energy’s Liberty shop. By Tom Groening You might be tempted to see the success of ReVision Energy as the case of a business stepping up to land an obvious windfall. After all, renewable energy equipment is a hot… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cape Cod’s housing crisis informs Maine coast

By Tom Groening For many New Englanders, Cape Cod is a beach-rimmed vacation destination. But it also may be understood as a canary in the coal mine. The Maine coast and Cape Cod differ in many ways, but one thing they share is a housing market pressured by seasonal residency… SEE MORE

Swan's Island Donnie Carlson builds a lobster trap.

Working Waterfront

Donnie Carlson found his niche on Swan’s Island

DALE JOYCE/HARBORVIEW STUDIO Donnie Carlson By Jennifer Helman/Photos By Dale Joyce Many people in the lobster industry see fishing as a birthright. They fish because their father fished, and maybe his father before him. Donnie Carlson started on that familiar path, but took an unexpected turn 30-plus years ago. As… SEE MORE

A view of the mouth of the Penobscot River from Fort Point in Stockton Springs.

Working Waterfront

Penobscot River mercury study: $300 million in remediation

By Catherine Schmitt The Penobscot River estuary is the largest in Maine, and one of the largest embayments on the East Coast. Islands and rocky shores dominate, but in the upper reaches, along the Marsh River in Frankfort and the Orland River, are extensive salt marshes and mudflats where the… SEE MORE

Carley Mayhew and Mott Feibusch of Monhegan Coffee Roasters.

Working Waterfront

The Monhegan trifecta: beer, coffee, chocolate

KELLI PARK Dylan and Mandy Metrano, owners of La Nef Chocolate. KELLI PARK Matt Weber of Monhegan Brewing Company. Story and Photos by Kelli Park What’s the word on Monhegan? The answer, offered this summer by an island businesswoman, was to the point—beer, coffee, and chocolate. In recent months, an… SEE MORE