Working Waterfront

‘On-demand’ lobster gear permitted

A Massachusetts group aiming to help develop lobster traps that eliminate standing buoy lines recently received a split decision about whether the trap technology could be tested in waters closed to fishing as a protection for endangered North Atlantic right whales. On April 1, Pioneers for a Thoughtful Coexistence was… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Running the regulation gauntlet

My husband, Bruce, launched his lobster boat at the end of March and was setting traps by the first week of April. He spent the winter painting buoys, repairing old traps, and building new ones. By the time he was ready to set out again, 600 of his 800 traps… SEE MORE

Sorting lobster in Stonington. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

New lobster size rules considered

It never rains but it pours. That’s the way New England lobstermen already grappling with the May 1 deadline to comply with new rules aimed at protecting right whales must be feeling. The latest challenge is that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has put changing the gauge—the measure… SEE MORE

Nicolle Littrell operates Dory Woman Rowing in Belfast Harbor year-round. Here, she rows with a client on the harbor in September. PHOTO: COURTESY NICOLLE LITTRELL

Working Waterfront

On the record with… Nicolle Littrell of DoryWoman Rowing

With the pandemic, many of us moved our jobs to our homes, and within that space we may choose a room that is comfortable and maybe comforting, too. Nicolle Littrell put a twist on that idea, opening a business in Belfast that is based in her happy place—a 19-1/2-foot wooden… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Unpacking lobstering’s windfall year

The closest I have come to regretting giving up my lobster license was this past summer. My father's still an active fisherman, and as we had a beer and looked out at our wharf in Round Pond, he told me the boat price for lobsters. I was shocked! I will… SEE MORE

Boathouses on Little Cranberry Island in late afternoon sun. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Island housing squeezes working people

Anyone who has lived, summered, or visited an island off the coast of Maine would agree that they are very special. They are incredibly beautiful, there is a strong sense of community, and they are physically separated from the chaos of crowds and cars on the mainland. Though most people… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Housing commission recommends statewide policies

A commission studying affordable housing in Maine had a narrow focus—how local zoning and land use rules could be changed to create more housing. But one of its recommendations would cut to the core of how cities and towns currently function by pushing municipalities toward state standards. The “home rule”… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Belle elected head of national aquaculture group

Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, has been elected president of the board of directors for the National Aquaculture Association. Since 1984, Belle has established best practices and advised commercial aquaculture ventures around the world, bridging private and public sectors. He has dedicated his career to demonstrating… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Concept would eliminate Eastport causeway

Connecting America’s deepest Atlantic Coast seaport to mainland America is becoming a 100-year challenge. “It’s been said that there are only two things that Mainers here in Washington County hate,” says Chris Gardner, who oversees the Port Authority of Eastport. “Change, and the way things are.” For many years, Gardner… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Roux Institute envisions Portland as tech hub

Tucked between the shore and I-295 at the mouth of Portland’s Back Cove, the B&M Baked Beans cannery, built in 1913, was a landmark for city residents, tourists, and even mariners on Casco Bay, as well as the source of the aroma of cooking beans and molasses. For more than… SEE MORE