Working Waterfront

Don’t fear the spotted produce… or slimy pork chops

Apparently Seattle is fining people who toss food waste instead of composting it. And in big cities like New York, some chefs are making a point of using up every last bit of broccoli stalk and cucumber butt in order to cut closer to the economic bones of their businesses.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island man loses fishing licenses

Lucas Lemoine, the 33-year-old scallop fisherman from Swan's Island charged earlier this year with multiple violations of marine resources laws, has had all of his commercial fishing licenses permanently revoked as a result of a history of violations that goes back almost two decades. This is the first time a… 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

Lessons learned on offshore wind

Block Island, 12 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, has a year-round population of about 950. Residents pay up to 60 cents per kilowatt hour for their electricity, which is generated on the island with diesel generators. Summer brings an influx of visitors and vacationers—and their money— with as… 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

L.L. Bean gives Maine Island Trail $100,000

FREEPORT — In 1987, long before “public/private ventures” became fashionable, L.L.Bean issued a small grant to create a Maine Island Trail Association, in partnership with the Maine Department of Conservation and the Island Institute. With this, the grassroots Maine Island Trail Association (often known as “MITA”) and the Maine Island… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ogunquit lawns go organic

It will be a spring like no other in the small oceanside community of Ogunquit, after voters passed an ordinance in November banning the use of non-organic pesticides and herbicides on private lands. Voters passed a similar ban on synthetic pesticide and herbicide use on public lands in 2009. The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Spotting whales from buoys and other scientific wonders

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. This month, we decided to highlight some of the new science we heard about at the 40th Maine Fishermen's Forum in early March. * * * The Eastern Maine Skippers Program, a regional collaboration among high schools including Deer Isle,… SEE MORE

A bike rack near the shore in Harpswell.

Working Waterfront

Bath, Brunswick thinking bike links

With summer (believe it or not) approaching, many coastal communities are gearing up for road projects. Increasingly, these projects incorporate components for bicyclists, but coastal towns and cities often have to get creative to make their communities bicycle friendly. Take Bath and Brunswick, both designated "bike friendly communities" by the… SEE MORE

The fishing vessel Westward being towed off a ledge by Fuller Marine Services in Boothbay Harbor on Jan. 9.

Working Waterfront

The Wrack Line

Compiled by Tom Groening In baseball, the hitter gets three strikes. But when it comes to a 136-foot fishing boat wandering off it's mooring, there is no third strike. The Boothbay Register has been following the saga of the Westward, a steel-hulled, Dutch-built vessel that has been moored in Boothbay… SEE MORE