Lobster boats docked inside Eastport’s breakwater. Lobstermen throughout Maine now face a trade hurdle their Canadian counterparts do not.

Working Waterfront

Canada’s trade deal with EU is hurting Maine lobster

Fears are mounting that the state’s lobster industry might become collateral damage in conflict sparked by the Trump administration’s distrust of free trade agreements. In recent years, Maine lobster exporters have established new international markets, thanks in part to several free trade pacts between the U.S. and other nations. But… SEE MORE

A scallop dragger at its mooring on a cold

Working Waterfront

DEP program helps fishermen, boatyards pay for new engines

It’s not every day the government pays for nearly half of a new engine for a commercial boat, but that’s the case for owners of some vessels. Since 2009, over 100 fishing boats, schooners, ferries, whale watch boats, and even a tug boat have been repowered with grants from the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s share of the VW settlement is $21 million

Maine’s share of the recent settlement with Volkswagen for the car manufacturer’s violation of emission laws is about $21 million. While the funds come with restrictions, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) worked with the Department of Environmental Protection's air quality bureau to put together a draft plan for spending the… SEE MORE

Workers harvest mussels at a aquaculture operation in Southern Maine.

Working Waterfront

Aquaculture, seafood processors share $1.7 million in grants

The Maine Technology Institute and Alliance for Maine’s Marine Economy have awarded eight grants to projects ranging from value-added seafood processing to seaweed aquaculture to shellfish aquaculture. The grant winners cover the coast from York to Washington counties. The marine economy grants and cluster initiative programs are financed by the… SEE MORE

Work was underway in November to bring broadband-speed internet to Islesford.

Working Waterfront

Change in the air, and in the fiber optic, on the Cranberrys

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” —SocratesIn March of 2016, at the annual meeting for the town of Cranberry Isles, citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of borrowing up to $1.2 million to “build a broadband… SEE MORE

The woking waterfront on Islesford (Little Cranberry Island) is busy

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Decorum in D.C., as seen from inside (and above) the room

I’ve learned a trick that helps me move through high-pressure situations. I wish I’d been able to use this trick when I was competing in piano recitals as a kid. Now, when I walk into a room in one of these situations, I imagine zooming out and standing above myself—actually,… SEE MORE

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Two new cookbooks tied to our Midcoast

Full Moon Suppers at Salt Water Farm by Annemarie Ahearn (Roost Books, 2017) The Lost Kitchen: Recipes and a Good Life Found in Freedom, Maine by Erin French (Clarkson Potter, 2017) Two new cookbooks from Midcoast chefs—Full Moon Suppers at Salt Water Farm in Lincolnville by Annemarie Ahearn and The… SEE MORE

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Caught: the reality behind the first fishermen’s co-op

Caught: time. place. fish. By Glen Libby and Antonia Small; Wrack Line Books, Port Clyde, Maine, 2016; 120 pages, large format paperback, $40. By design, Caught, with text by by Glen Libby and photos by Antonia Small, is a book you can keep on your coffee table both for casual… SEE MORE

The remnants of boats destroyed during the Oct. 30 storm washed ashore near Belfast's breakwater.

Working Waterfront

‘Bomb cyclone’ explodes over Maine coast

Those of us who endured the Ice Storm of 1998, which knocked out power for days and even weeks for many, take a certain pride in having survived the ordeal. All other extended power outages were measured against that mother of “inconveniences,” as former (Belfast) Republican Journal columnist Doug Hufnagel… SEE MORE

The Bar Harbor Inn at center on a cloudy autumn day.

Working Waterfront

Tourism industry wrestles with disruptive influences

Social media and new technology are driving change in the tourism industry at an unprecedented rate. Those changes are driving marketplace innovations, as tourism interests strive to reach new demographic groups on the latter’s own terms. That was the message from Paul Ouimet, managing director of DestinationNEXT, a research and… SEE MORE