Working Waterfront

Talking scallops with Sam Belknap

NAME: Sam Belknap TITLE: Director of Island Institute’s Center for Marine Economy FOCUS I direct work aimed at protecting and sustaining Maine’s working waterfronts, as well as advancing the use of electric outboards for our commercial fleet, and expanding aquaculture businesses. IN THIS PHOTO: Seen at far right, I’m moderating a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coastal aquifers face new challenges

Salty wells are not new to the Maine coast, but the problem is getting more attention in recent years. All aquifers are impacted by fluctuations in precipitation, particularly the big annual swings we've had recently in Maine with the entire state experiencing drought conditions in the summer/fall of 2024, following… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tick… tick… boom

I had spent the day online, taking a necessary but predictably dull class. As soon as we logged out for the day, I gathered my shoes, my hat, and my kid, and we went for a walk. First, we walked down the hill to check on the vernal pool I'd… SEE MORE

Former apprentice Matt Czuchra, left, and current apprentice Kelly Morgan sort oysters at Bombazine Farms. The image is from Maine Aquaculture Association’s Tending the Tides documentary, courtesy Maine Aquaculture Association.

Working Waterfront

Aquaculture apprenticeships accelerate workforce growth

Kelly Morgan moved from California to Maine to work on an oyster farm. By way of the Maine Aquaculture Apprenticeship Program, she landed a job on the New Meadows River in Brunswick farming oysters with Bombazine Oyster Company. SEE MORE

A rocky Maine shoreline speaks to large forces at work. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

Working Waterfront

Maine’s fractal coast

Day in and day out, summer after summer when I was a kid, I flew back and forth over Casco Bay with my father in his Piper Cub seaplane. From the air I saw thousands of spooked seagulls, smooth, steel-colored sea rollers in identical ranks, wind-beaten chop, whales, porpoises, schools… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Good policy comes from informed policy makers

Those of us who work in coastal communities understand the vital role working waterfronts play in supporting jobs in our communities… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Camping adventures and misadventures

This issue of The Working Waterfront features a story about the emerging trend of “glamping,” a term coined to describe a version of camping that’s a bit more glamorous. I’ve had some camping experiences, most of which weren’t glamorous. My father, being a schoolteacher, had summers off, and after several… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Glamping’ is growing, but not always welcomed

In 2020, KOA—one of the largest camping corporations in the country—converted its traditional Bar Harbor campground into Terramor, a luxury glamping resort. The Montana-based glamping company Under Canvas opened Under Canvas Acadia in Surry in 2021. In 2022, the glamping site Acadia Wilderness Lodge opened in Tremont, just a few minutes away from Acadia National Park. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine seafood is a ‘green’ choice

Make no mistake—our access to healthy seafood from fishermen and aquaculturists is under threat, along with the thousands of jobs and iconic heritage that bring it to your table. But there are available solutions that can both reduce the seafood sector’s GHG emissions and assist businesses on the financial side. SEE MORE

Humpback whale breaching. PHOTO: TOM FERNALD

Working Waterfront

Research highlights whale movement

A major study of humpback whale movement patterns across the North Atlantic basin is illuminating the behavior of at least one endangered species of whale. “Ocean basin-wide movement patterns of North Atlantic humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae,” published by the International Whaling Commission’s Journal of Conservation Research and Management, provides an… SEE MORE