Working Waterfront

A summer of uncertainty for the lobster industry

Lobstering is a dangerous, difficult business, and not just for the harvesters who risk their lives to bring their catch to shore. Many factors influence how lucrative the lobster industry will be in any year. Ultimately, these factors influence the profits throughout the supply chain, from dock to dinner plate.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coast offers climate mitigation potential

By Susie Arnold Determining Maine’s carbon budget is a key first step in meeting Gov. Janet Mill’s 2019 pledge of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. Recent estimates coming out of the Maine Climate Council point to an under-recognized asset in the quest to becoming “carbon neutral”—vegetated coastal ecosystems. Carbon neutrality… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How the next generation is building a better climate

By Kate Tagai Youth leadership. It is the next generation’s world to inherit, and it is they who will need resilient leadership, compassion, and strength to adapt and thrive in a changing climate, so why not start now? It can be as simple as an adult asking the question, “What… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tough times ahead, but businesses bank on resiliency

By Meghan Grabill Recent reports have suggested that Maine’s economy is highly vulnerable to the impacts of the coronavirus. On the surface, data indicators can point to many different outcomes in an approachable and easy-to-understand way. But this simplicity leaves no room for nuances like resiliency. Many of Maine’s characteristics… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Which is more accurate—a mirror or a painting?

By Meghan Grabill When I moved here over a year ago, people asked me what connection I had to Maine. What brought me here? My response: I had visited once as a teenager on a family trip and when a job opportunity presented itself on the coast of Maine I… SEE MORE

A lobsterman and his young helper in the Fox Islands Thorofare.

Working Waterfront

Lobster science—last year was indeed strange

By Susie Arnold It was a strange year for the lobster fishery. In 2019, the scarcity of bait was a concern, and lobster landings were incredibly slow through the summer months. The July catch was the lowest recorded since at least 2008, the year the Department of Marine Resources began… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The census is coming… and why you should be counted

By Meghan Grabill It’s that time again. Ten years in the making. Data nerds, college students, genealogists, and trivia buffs everywhere are starting the countdown. The countdown to what? To the 2020 Decennial Census! For people who do not work with social and economic data, the census may seem dull. … SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Can our communities be marine-friendly?

By Craig Olson You’ve heard it many times, but it bears repeating: “Change is the only constant.” For Maine’s coastal economy, that statement couldn’t be more appropriate. For those who work on the water or rely on marine-based businesses, shifts in ocean use, diminishing fisheries, and access to steady supplies… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lemonade from lemons, or tasty seafood from invasive crabs

By Kate Tagai Thousands flock to the Maine coast each summer to crack open the boiled red shells of lobster, drench the contents in butter, and toss it down the hatch. Fishermen catch more than 119 million pounds annually for consumers, but Gabriela Bradt from the University of New Hampshire… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s right whale plan is due by September

By Susie Arnold The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) will submit a proposal to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in September outlining how the state’s lobster fishery will reduce its risk of entangling endangered North Atlantic Right Whales by 60 percent. Failure to submit a plan that meets… SEE MORE