Working Waterfront

Program gives islanders a leg up on lobstering

FRENCHBORO—Residents hoping to sustain a viable lobster fishing community are celebrating the implementation of a program that allows island fishermen to get fishing licenses more quickly than their mainland counterparts. "It’s a wonderful program to sustain the island for generations to come, not just for us, but for others," said… SEE MORE

A boat under construction at Hodgdon Yacht.

Working Waterfront

Manufacturing, alive and well in… Boothbay?

Everyone wants to see manufacturing businesses return to the U.S. and Maine. And why not? The value of businesses that make tangible things in large plants where hundreds of employees go to work each morning is easy to understand. Those large-scale manufacturing businesses typically offer a range of entry level… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine cousins succeed with lobster food trucks

Maine natives and cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac had customers lined up 50 deep the moment they began selling fresh Maine lobster rolls from their food truck in Los Angeles. A few months later, they were on television's reality investment show "Shark Tank," partnering with real estate mogul and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Boothbay: the boatbuilding town

Boothbay Harbor is one of those charming towns that require intention to get there, ten miles down a peninsula bracketed by rivers and heralded oceanside. A distinctive characteristic is the instant feel of history in its spaghetti-like network of narrow lanes close to shore and the vintage homes that preside… SEE MORE

Business

Students from the Blueberry Harvest School learn about sustainable fisheries during an August 2014 trip in Frenchman Bay.

Working Waterfront

Hispanics help Washington County grow

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of stories about how immigration is changing the face of the Maine coast. The writer, Jennifer Atkinson, is a lawyer in Friendship who specializes in immigration matters. If asked to name the most ethnically diverse towns in Maine few people would… SEE MORE

Firefighters squeeze into the galley to fight a simulated grease fire.

Working Waterfront

Fire in the galley!

Charles Salerno surveys the scene with a sharp eye. Several figures in bright yellow and orange jackets and pants crawl up to a doorway, their breathing masks and oxygen tanks making movement difficult. Their helmets bounce off of one another's visors, and their heavy gloves make handling the 2-inch hose… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Robin Alden recognized as innovator in fisheries work

STONINGTON — Robin Alden is the recipient of the 2015 Innovator Award as part of the first SOURCE Maine Sustainability Awards presented on April 9 at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester. The award is one of seven given to Maine leaders, organizations and businesses. "Alden has made it her life's work to… SEE MORE

A seawall is built at Popham Beach in Phippsburg in March 2013 to protect homes from the sea.

Working Waterfront

Offshore sand and gravel extraction boon, threat

When Superstorm Sandy rolled over the Jersey shore, it washed away some 20 million cubic yards of beach sand. Replacing that resource is not optional, many believe, because decimated beaches kill tourism economies and leave coastal areas more vulnerable to damage from the next storm. So where does the sand… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Offshore aquaculture offers promise, may avoid conflict

Aquaculture, once seen as a viable alternative to chasing declining wild fish stocks, is rebounding. But fish farming is taking shape in locations and using technology far different from the floating pens seen just off the coast back in the early 1990s. One new area entrepreneurs are exploring is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Keeping it live at Andy’s in the Old Port

PHOTO ESSAY BY KATIE JOHNSON SEE THE SLIDESHOW Looking for live music? Andy’s Old Port Pub is locally famous for having music every night of the week. Owners and Great Diamond Island residents Rick Frantz and Jennifer Fox’s support music draws performers from all over the state, country and occasionally… SEE MORE