Working Waterfront

Sea cucumber gunk: deadly weapon, potential biopolymer

In case there was any doubt, our August heat wave makes it clear that summer is in full swing. Summer means the beach, with all the weird sea creatures it has to offer. Among these weirdos is the tropical sea cucumber, Holothuria leucospilota, which is mainly found in the Indian… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

In the flow—cytometry tracks tiny organism

The research tools the scientists use to probe the changing ocean—flow cytometry and imaging flow cytometry, and the insights they enable—were the topic of the second presentation in Bigelow’s annual summer series... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bike and walk to a better climate future

Climate change arguably is one of the biggest challenges we face as a nation, as a world. It is a challenge that does not have a single solution, but requires us to deploy a wide range of actions to drastically reduce global warming, pollution, and to prepare for the climate… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coastal cleanup returns

The Maine Coastal Program, a division of the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), has opened registration for the annual Coastal Cleanup, a volunteer-driven initiative designed to clean debris from shores and waterfront communities. Part of the International Coastal Cleanup, Maine’s Coastal Cleanup will run from Sept. 7-21. Anyone who wishes… 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

Honorees, from left: Beth Ahearn, Carol Wishcamper, and Rena Newell hold baskets woven by Richard Silliboy, vice chief of the Mi’kmaq Nation during Nihkaniyane on July 11. PHOTO: EMMA DAVIS/MAINE MORNING STAR

Working Waterfront

Tribal advocates honored at Abbe Museum

By EMMA DAVIS/MAINE MORNING STAR MaineMorningStar.com The Wabanaki Nations embody what Carol Wishcamper characterized as patient persistence. Wishcamper, a founding supporter of the Wabanaki Alliance, was one of three people honored July 11 at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor at Nihkaniyane, the second year that members of the alliance… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine photographer dives into Gulf of Maine

Brian Skerry has traveled the globe for decades taking photos and videos of ocean ecosystems off all seven continents. His latest project took him to the waters of his own backyard—the Gulf of Maine—where as a child he discovered his love for the sea. The result is a three-part series… 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