A view up Washington Street in Eastport. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Ready for, not reacting to change

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Over the last couple of weeks I have been asked to define resiliency. Eastport is in the process of joining… SEE MORE

From left: Scott Firmin, Dan Devereaux, Ivy Frignoca, Will Everitt, and Fred Dillon. PHOTO: COURTESY FRIENDS OF CASCO BAY

Working Waterfront

Casco Bay group honors clean water heroes

Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca announced the three recipients of the 2022 Casco Bay Awards at Friends of Casco Bay’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and members annual meeting earlier this summer. Award recipients were recognized for their exceptional efforts to address pollution and climate change… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Closing the tap on the plastics problem

Oh, no! You got distracted and left the water running in the bathtub. You run into the bathroom, see it overflowing onto the floor, and you turn and run for a mop. A mop? No, you don’t run for a mop, says Jackie Savitz, chief policy officer for Oceana. You… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lobstermen see ‘dark cloud’ hovering over industry

Lobster fishermen continue to grapple with what they say are the cascading consequences of new rules designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale which affect how and where they fish. “It’s this dark cloud looming over us. One court decision could shut the entire lobster fishery down,” said… SEE MORE

The stern deck of Maine Maritime Academy's current training vessel. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

New, bigger State of Maine being built

Barring the vagaries of pandemics, the economy, and politics, Maine Maritime Academy in Castine will have a new training ship before the end of 2024. Its impacts on both the academy and the town will be hard to miss even before its arrival. To be christened as the next T/S… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The Maine coast goes electric

Sandy Oliver should be getting paid the big bucks by Tesla’s marketing team. Describing how she snuggles up to her smartphone to gaze lovingly at the app for her Powerwall—Tesla’s in-home backup battery system—Sandy builds a visceral connection for the otherwise esoteric and dull topic of energy resilience. “When the… SEE MORE

A view of Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park. PHOTO: COURTESY FRIENDS OF ACADIA

Working Waterfront

National park tourism in Maine injects $770 million

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that visitors to national parks in Maine spent $490 million in 2021. The total of 4.1 million visits supported 7,070 jobs and had a cumulative economic output of $770 million. “National parks are a vital part of our nation’s economy,” said Deputy… SEE MORE

A lobster boat at its mooring off Great Cranberry Island.

Working Waterfront

Mills offers relief for fishermen, ocean farmers

Amid high costs, Gov. Janet Mills announced that her administration is taking action to deliver relief for Maine’s commercial fishermen and ocean farmers. The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) will use $8.3 million in federal funding to reimburse resident commercial fishermen, dealers, processors, and those in the aquaculture sector… SEE MORE

An aerial view of the shore at Camp Ellis in Saco.

Working Waterfront

Shelter from the storm

Financial assistance may soon be on the way for construction of a new jetty off a breakwater at Camp Ellis in Saco in hopes of mitigating severe beach erosion the seaside community has contended with for generations. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have passed the Water Resources Development… SEE MORE

Community Shellfish FILE PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Reviving lobster pounds as oyster farms

Few places exemplify the resilient and sustainable coastal communities than the aptly named Community Shellfish in Bremen. The seafood distributor connects local independent fishermen to a wider market hungry for high-quality lobsters, clams, and oysters. The harbor, fueling station, and fully equipped dock at Community Shellfish’s facility on the Medomak… SEE MORE