A container ship off Searport. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Maine ports avoid shipping delays… for now

Off the coast of Southern California, there is a sizable fleet of container ships with as many as half a million containers waiting to make port. Meanwhile, a major terminal at one of China’s most important ports recently was shuttered for two weeks because of a single case of COVID-19… SEE MORE

A fishing boat cruises past some of Portland's wharves. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

GMRI to buy Portland’s Union Wharf

The past and the future of Portland’s working waterfront will be melded together when the Gulf of Maine Research Institute completes its purchase of Union Wharf from the Poole family, owners of the historic wharf since at least 1861, later this year. GMRI announced the impending purchase on Nov. 15.… SEE MORE

Capt. David Gelinas prepares to jump from the pilot boat onto a moving ship.

Working Waterfront

On the record with… Penobscot Bay pilot Dave Gelinas

Without Maine’s shipping ports, many home heating oil tanks would run dry this winter. Without trained pilots, who take the "con" of tankers, guiding their navigation as they make their way up Penobscot Bay, the cargo would not be delivered. And without their extensive training, that fuel could be at… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

UMaine launches ‘blue economy’ program

The Maine Business School at the University of Maine will launch a graduate education and collaborative research initiative to support Maine’s marine economy with the help of a $50,000 award from the William Procter Scientific Innovation Fund. Together with UMaine’s Darling Marine Center, the Maine Business School is launching the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bluefin tuna blues: To eat or not to eat?

My favorite sushi restaurant is in Rockland—Suzuki Sushi, where Keiko Suzuki Steinberger presides over a delectable panorama of sushi, sashimi, nigiri, and other mostly seafood delights of Japanese cuisine. I love Chef Keiko’s insistence on fish that’s local, fresh, and sustainably harvested, but there’s one variety, in great demand, that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island Institute names new president

The Island Institute, a community development nonprofit serving Maine’s island and coastal communities, has hired Anthony (Tony) Chatwin as its new president. Emily Lane, chairwoman of the Institute’s board of trustees, noted that Chatwin’s background matched the organization’s priorities. “With more than 20 years of experience in building sustainable communities,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Animals are well protected in research

I read with growing dismay the guest columnist featured in the September 2021 issue of The Working Waterfront (“Animal welfare a victim in research”). It was, in almost every respect, incorrect and inflammatory. First, there are laws governing the use of animals in research beyond the Animal Welfare Act, including… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Canada’s Pelee Island gets $20 million internet upgrade

What is believed to be the longest freshwater fiber link in Canada —almost 75 kilometers (46 miles) in length—will soon be installed to create an upgraded broadband internet connection for every resident and business on Lake Erie’s Pelee Island. The federal and provincial governments will jointly fund the $20 million… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

It’s time for a working waterfront advocate

I have spent a good part of my professional life working with fishermen. I helped found the Tenants Harbor Fisherman’s Co-op... SEE MORE

Artist rendering of floating wind turbines.

Working Waterfront

Wind turbines banned in state waters

Gov. Janet Mills has signed into law LD 1619 which prohibits new offshore wind projects in state waters. The prohibition preserves state waters for recreation and fishing—where up to 75 percent of Maine’s commercial lobster harvesting occurs—and cements into law its priority of locating wind projects in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine. SEE MORE