An artist's rendering of the new facility planned for Great Wass Island.

Working Waterfront

Downeast Institute begins expanding facility on Great Wass Island

A $1.8 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation tops off the funding needed to complete a $5.8 million expansion of the Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education. The facility is the marine science field station of the University of Maine at Machias and is located on Great… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Portland pier dredge could use new technology

On a raw spring day at the beginning of May, a geotechnical team drilled into the ocean floor in the shallow waters just east of the U.S. Coast Guard station in South Portland. The team was getting borings to help determine if the site is appropriate for Maine’s first… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Paul Anderson succeeds Robin Alden at fishery nonprofit

The Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (MCCF) has named Paul Anderson as its new executive director. Anderson will begin working at the Stonington nonprofit in September and will fully assume executive director duties Jan. 1. Anderson will succeed founder Robin Alden as executive director, who is stepping down after 14… SEE MORE

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Historic Pilgrim’s Inn, a Deer Isle landmark, finds new owners

Walking into the Pilgrim’s Inn, the slight undulation of the 14-inch-wide floorboards immediately gives away the fact that this is a historic building. Then there are other wonderful features. Large fireplaces and chimneys are made of handmade bricks and have beehive ovens set in the back and pot-hanging trammels over… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Weather, The Great War and a homeward bound schooner

Let’s start with the weather. It’s April, that often cruelest of months, as this is being written. In Maine, April is a flirt, flashing a warm, beckoning smile one day, and spitting snow the next. This winter followed the pattern of last year’s, easier on the snow and cold—though in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islands on the mind and a beer in hand

Maine and the country have seen amazing growth in the craft brewing business. This evolution began over 25 years ago, and there are now over 80 breweries in Maine. People appreciate a better tasting product and are willing to seek it out. The brewing community is a passionate group that sees… SEE MORE

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‘The real thing’ sets coastal, island agenda

American life faced a confluence of turbulent forces in 1971. The war in Vietnam was raging, with strong opposition that sometimes resorted to domestic terrorism. The women’s rights movement was emerging, while the push for equity for African-Americans was becoming militant. And a deep worry about the state of the… SEE MORE

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On the record with: Steve Lyons of the Maine Office of Tourism

Steve Lyons has been with the Maine Office of Tourism since 1998, working under three directors. With the departure of Carolann Ouellette, he is now the acting director of the small office—which has just seven employees—tucked within the Department of Economic and Community Development. But there’s nothing small about the… SEE MORE

Lobster boats in Vinalhaven's Carver's Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Lobster union buys processing facility

The Maine Lobstering Union’s recent $4 million purchase of the Seal Point Lobster Company, a wholesale lobster distribution business in Lamoine, is expected to net union members a share of the profits to be had throughout the entire supply chain, from trap to plate. But the purchase is about more… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Warmer waters pushing northern shrimp out of Gulf of Maine

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. This winter was the fourth consecutive year of a moratorium on fishing for northern shrimp. Management of the fishery remains a subject of discussion. The small, sweet northern shrimp are an Arctic species, and are at the southernmost extent of… SEE MORE