Working Waterfront

Maine granite firm works on Lady Liberty

Help wanted signs offering a plethora of enticing benefits are ubiquitous these days as companies large and small struggle to find enough workers, but a set of such signs posted along Route 1 in the Hancock County town of Orland offers a recruitment enticement you don’t see every day: Join… SEE MORE

Business

Working Waterfront

Boothbay Maritime Foundation plans pier

The Boothbay Region Maritime Foundation has recently signed a contract with Fuller Marine to build a new pier and seawall at Carter’s Wharf, 87 Atlantic Avenue, the former site of the Sea Pier. The seawall will be constructed from granite and will be raised to meet current FEMA flood zone… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

State awards $21.2 million in resilience grants

Sixty-eight Maine working waterfronts will receive $21.2 million in resilience grants from the state to support recovery and rebuilding from damage caused by devastating storms this past winter. The Working Waterfront Resilience Grant Program is funded with $60 million in state funding authorized through the supplemental budget in May— the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bill would offer tax credits to working waterfronts

U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Bill Cassidy, R-La. are introducing legislation to offer a disaster mitigation tax credit to working waterfronts located on coasts and navigable waterways. The Working Waterfronts Disaster Mitigation Tax Credit Act would provide working waterfronts with a 30% tax credit on up to $1 million… SEE MORE

The January storms devastated the Rockland waterfront. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Planning for a stormy future pays off

Some local leaders are crediting municipal sea level rise and climate resilence committees for giving their communities a head start in the race for millions of federal, state, and private dollars that are now heading for Maine’s coast. “It’s really important to have this town infrastructure in place,” said Bill… SEE MORE

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