Luke Maker, 8, of Machiasport runs the family skiff through a cove earlier this summer using an electric outboard purchased through a grant from Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Luke and is father, Ryan, fish for lobster. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Lobster season brings sense of normalcy

The 2024 lobster season has brought Maine fishermen something they haven’t experienced in recent years: A sense of normalcy. After several years of volatile price swings for their catches, unpredictable harvests, and increased costs for everything from bait to fuel, this year is shaping up to be unusually ordinary, lobstermen… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Public, private don’t always play nicely

Imagine the reaction to a town renting out offices in a public library built through the beneficence of Andrew Carnegie a century ago. Or a John D. Rockefeller-donated carriage trail in Acadia National Park being turned into a for-profit go-cart track. It’s not quite as dramatic as all that, but… SEE MORE

Jimmy Steele poses with the beginnings of one of his legendary peapods in a photo by Everett “Red” Boutilier. PHOTO: PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Intriguing photo reveals a boat’s essence

I have always been drawn to unusual photographs. I love how the camera can take a slice out of the real world, which, once removed from its context, becomes a riddle for the viewer to figure out. I had this reaction when I first saw the accompanying photograph of Jimmy… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Strategies for a climate-ready coast

For Maine’s rocky shores, offshore seaweed habitats and oyster reefs can effectively reduce wave energy. Restored kelp forests in Norway have cut wave height by up to 50% and wave energy by 70-80%, enhancing shoreline stability. SEE MORE

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