A fishing boat in Rockland Harbor. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Lobster harvest sets dollar record

Recently updated data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources shows 2021 as the most valuable year in the history of Maine's lobster fishery. At $724,949,426, the landed value for the iconic fishery jumped by 75 percent over 2020, by far the single largest increase in value, year over year.… SEE MORE

Maine Maritime Academy's waterfront. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Maine Maritime Academy names new president

Maine Maritime Academy has named Jerald S. “Jerry” Paul as the college’s 15th president. Paul, current president of Capitol Access and a 1989 graduate of the institution, will take office this spring. Paul succeeds William J. Brennan who steps down from the position in April after 12 years at MMA.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The changing climate of Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon face challenges, many of which—dams, pollution, predators—have been problematic for a long time. But as temperatures rise, precipitation and melt increase, and seasons shift, the pressure is increasing. In their migrations from river to sea and back again, Maine’s wild Atlantic salmon, on the Endangered Species List since… SEE MORE

Amanda Moeser of Lanes Island Oysters, who grows her oysters in the Royal River in Yarmouth. PHOTO: GRACE TERRY

Working Waterfront

Women moving into growing aquaculture sector

Libby Davis’s mobile raw bar, Lady Shuckers, was born from her desire to shuck oysters—and change the industry paradigm. “Being pushed enough to work harder and say, ‘Well, if you want to shuck, you got to be as good as the shuckers,’” Davis said, “who in my circle were all… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New Mainers, ‘boomerangs’ reflect on choices

For years, Stephanie Pemberton and her husband discussed leaving Indiana, but weren’t sure where to go. That changed when Pemberton, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, accepted a three-month assignment at a Midcoast medical facility. “My husband and kids visited on Thanksgiving and we made the abrupt decision right then and there,”… SEE MORE

An aerial view of Bremen Community Shellfish, shot in September. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Maine’s blue economy threatened by loss of access

Persuading policy makers and residents of the value of Maine’s “blue economy” is easy, but if significant investment isn’t made in commercial access to the shore, that sector will languish, according to a report published late last year. “The Critical Nature of Maine’s Working Waterfronts and Access to the Shore”… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Seafood shrinking as world’s protein source

If we do not do something to counter pressure through consumption and illegal fishing, we will face a crisis in protein supply to feed the growing world population, an estimated 40 percent of whom today are reliant on seafood as their essential source of protein. We have exhausted certain areas,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Equitable access to broadband is a worthy investment

The pandemic clarified what many already knew—your ability to connect to the internet is not guaranteed. Where you live determines the quality of the infrastructure you can access. Your ability to use that connection depends on whether you can afford internet service, if you have a device to use, and… SEE MORE

Maine's congressional delegation (from left, Jared Golden, Chellie Pingee, and from right, Angus King and Susan Collins, flank Gov. Janet Mills.

Working Waterfront

Collins secures funding for lobster industry

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has secured $15 million in the draft fiscal year 2022 commerce, justice, and science appropriations bill to support Maine’s lobster industry. The bill must still be voted upon by the full Senate and House. Collins released the following… SEE MORE

Marian Baker, at right, in her studio and gallery on Islesford. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Islesford potter wins crafts honor

The Maine Crafts Association (MCA), a statewide nonprofit organization that builds upon Maine’s rich craft traditions by nurturing a vibrant, supportive, inclusive craft community and strong individual craft artist practices, has named potter and educator Marian Baker of Yarmouth as the 2021 recipient of its Maine Craft Artist Award. The… SEE MORE