Working Waterfront

Our golden age of lobster continues, but…

Last year was disappointing for the lobster fishery, with many fishermen estimating their earnings down an estimated 20 percent to 30 percent compared with 2016. But a look at the longer term picture reveals the lobster fishery as bountiful over recent decades, making it unique both within our own history… SEE MORE

Robbie Begin and his crew bring a purse seine full of pogies up alongside his boat Pogie Patrol.

Working Waterfront

Return of menhaden, bigger quotas, good news for Maine

Wherever there’s an abundance of Atlantic menhaden along the East Coast, there, too, is an abundance of other wildlife—humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins, striped bass and bluefish, and bald eagles and osprey. That’s because menhaden, commonly called “pogies” by fishermen, are a key forage species. “When we saw the pogies… SEE MORE

JB Turner of Belfast's Front Street Shipyard speaks at the Island Institute's Waypoints Forum in Portland on Jan. 19. At left is the Island Instiute's Briana Warner. At far right is Mark Ouellette of Axiom Technologies

Working Waterfront

From patriarchy and matriarchy to process

On Jan. 19, the Island Institute hosted its second annual Waypoints Forum in Portland. (Videos of the presentations can be seen here.) The theme this year was “Waterfront Futures.” During a panel we called “Big Ideas on the Waterfront,” we heard from business owners who have placed big bets on the future… SEE MORE

Belted Galloways graze in East Blue Hill at the head of Blue Hill Bay.

Working Waterfront

Estaury Beat: Plastic pollution, Union River dam, Sheepscot River…

Researchers study plastic pollution in Blue Hill Bay Scientists working for the Marine & Environmental Research Institute have been studying plastic pollution since 2012, and this work was continued by two interns who presented their findings in December. Widespread throughout the world’s oceans, “microplastics” are microscopic (smaller than five millimeters)… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Norway firm plans $400 million land-based salmon farm in Belfast

From left: Elizabeth Ransom (Ransom Consulting), Lars-Henrik Røren (Chairman of NAF), Sen. Angus King, Erik Heim (CEO and founder of Nordic Aquafarms), and Peter DelGreco and Ashley Pringle (Maine & Co). A Norway-based company is planning to build the world’s largest land-based Atlantic salmon-raising operation in Belfast, the firm’s CEO… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Public ownership of Maine’s shore: courts got it wrong

By Orlando E. Delogu In my new book, Maine’s Beaches Are Public Property, I argue that the state’s highest court, the Law Court, got it wrong in its 1986 and 1989 rulings. The court should have concluded that title to Maine’s intertidal lands is not held by adjacent upland owners,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Three takes on making connections

A letter recently landed on my desk from a reader of The Working Waterfront. The man, who lives in New Harbor, receives the newspaper in his mailbox; we mail the paper to everyone on Maine’s 15 year-round islands, as well to all of Mount Desert Island, the Blue Hill-Stonington peninsula,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island mud inspires Vinalhaven man’s skin-care business

Inspired by the natural resources of his island home, Vinalhaven’s Willie Drury has launched a line of skin care products he’s calling Maine Magic Mud. Drury, 25, returned home after graduating college with a plan to go fishing. He had always been interested in starting a business, but didn't know… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Portland pub owners recognized for Casco Bay advocacy

Rick Frantz and Jennifer Fox are part of Portland’s vibrant waterfront scene. They own Andy’s Old Port Pub on Commercial Street, and they take the ferry home each night to Great Diamond Island. Casco Bay is literally their backyard. On Jan. 23, as more than 125 volunteers and supporters of Friends of Casco… SEE MORE

A tender carries passengers back to their cruise ship from Bar Harbor's town landing.

Working Waterfront

Bar Harbor residents to consider purchasing former ferry site

In June, Bar Harbor voters will be asked if they want to purchase the former ferry terminal from the Maine Department of Transportation for $3.5 million. If they decide to buy it, they’ll then have to decide what to do with it. After public hearings, the town council’s Ferry Terminal… SEE MORE