Megan Shapiro, left, and Rory Morgan of Maine Department of Marine Resources deploy a ropeless lobster trap in a demonstration of some of the new technology for community leaders and fishermen at Jonesport’s town landing on Feb. 18. See the story inside for more information about the new gear. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

DMR demonstrates ropeless lobster gear in Jonesport

Island Institute is supporting a project that aims to trial available types of on-demand gear through the Maine Innovative Gear Library. The goal, through paid industry participation, is to determine the real-world capabilities and challenges associated with ropeless gear. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Institute staff reflect on national waterfront conference

The Institute crew presented on efforts like marine decarbonization, storm preparedness, and greenhouse gas assessments in the seafood industry, all while learning fresh ways to drive progress and continue supporting Maine’s working waterfronts. SEE MORE

Residents of Penobscot vote to enact an ordinance regulating aquaculture operations at a meeting last year.

Working Waterfront

Another view on aquaculture conflicts

The opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of Island Institute, the publisher of The Working Waterfront Yes, please, let’s have an honest conversation about aquaculture (as the op-ed by Benjamin Ford of the law firm Archipelago argued in the April/May issue of The Working Waterfront). Protect Maine’s Fishing… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

LD 1 would help coastal towns prepare

To support this effort and align it with the state’s climate initiatives, Island Institute leveraged the Governor’s Office of Policy, Innovation, and the Future’s Community Resilience Partnership (CRP) opportunity, which provides individualized vulnerability assessments for community projects. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Massachusetts pilots culvert-replacement project

New Englanders may only think about culverts when they fail. Often, we don’t know a road even has a culvert until it has collapsed or is dammed with sediment, causing flooding. What may be less obvious is that culverts can protect against storm surge and tidal flooding, especially as sea… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A YEAR LATER—Waterfront business owners reflect on storms

“That afternoon, all the fishermen showed up to help,” Chipman recalled, a theme among the panelists, crediting the larger community with assisting in stabilizing the properties. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The cost of Maine scallops

Dayboat scallopers have a short harvest season. Starting usually during the first week of December, the season extends until about the middle of April. Scallopers are restricted to fishing only 50 to 60 days during that four-month period... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hopeful persistence

It is important every now and again for an organization to test its values. The process reinvigorates the idea that how an organization works is as important as what it does. It engages new team members in the fundamentals of the mission. It reminds us that values are more than… SEE MORE

An aerial view of Camden’s waterfront shows Montgomery Dam. PHOTO: TODD ANDERSON

Working Waterfront

Camden’s dam problem

In June, voters in the town of Camden will decide the fate of the iconic Montgomery Dam, located in the coastal community’s bustling downtown just above where the Megunticook River empties into Camden Harbor. Camden citizens will weigh the environmental, economic, flood risk, historic preservation, and aesthetic pros and cons… SEE MORE

Minna Page, a cannery worker, inside Stinson's Cannery in Belfast in 1990. PHOTO: PEGGY MCKENNA COLLECTION/PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

When the Maine coast was ‘Sardineland’

In the mid-20th century, there were some 75 sardine canneries operating along the Maine coast, so calling the region “sardine land” wouldn’t be hyperbole. The Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport is diving into the history of that once robust sector of the marine economy in its spring exhibit, “Sardineland: Boom,… SEE MORE