Working Waterfront

My suburban homesick blues

If political pundits are correct, the presidential campaign is going to be fought through the streets and cul de sacs of subdivisions and housing developments. The outcome, observers assert, will hinge on what happens in the suburbs. It won’t be the first time this mid-20th century term will be waved… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thomaston yacht builder applies skills to land projects

After more than 30 years producing and servicing custom sailing and motor yachts, Lyman-Morse in Thomaston tacked in a different direction during the 2008 recession. While the core of their business is still building and servicing boats, company president Drew Lyman said expanded services now include “a wide range of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Warm currents feeding Gulf of Maine outpacing cold currents

A much-used statistic says the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 98 percent of the world’s oceans. While one might imagine the warming is due to a “Bunsen burner-like” effect in the gulf itself, it actually results from two sources of water that feed the gulf. The effect is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Machias farm is betting on hemp

Ben Edwards planned to begin harvesting in mid-September, but a new variety of hemp matured almost overnight, possibly in response to heavy rains. “For whatever reason, this strain is maturing really quickly,” said Edwards, pointing to plants with yellowing leaves. “Ideally, some of these would have stayed out here for… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

For right whale protection—Is technology the future of lobster fishing?

Acoustic buoy releases and tracking software: These are high-tech options under consideration as ways to eliminate the potential for interaction between the lobster fishery and the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Ideas include raising traps from the sea floor by means of acoustically signaled lifting mechanisms, rather than hauling by… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tourism is a fragile pillar of island economy

It turns out that the Maine coast and Bali have something major in common. We each depend on tourism as a primary source of income, and economically the pandemic has hurt both of us badly. In the U.S., Maine is first in its economic losses, with Vermont and Nevada as… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Climate council work is narrowing focus

In a world where every king tide inundates parking lots and building basements, where great white sharks can be found off the rocky shores of the Maine coast, and where the summer bakes us with the intensity many southern visitors have come to try to escape, we can no longer… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Strengthening Maine’s small business backbone

How often have we at the Island Institute said—like many others throughout Maine—that small business is the backbone of the state. That became clearer than ever in March of this year. Coronavirus hit. We paused. We stepped back. We shut down. It became clear that small businesses were going to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A new soundtrack for our working waterfronts

It wasn’t just the sound of seagulls and waves lapping against the shore those four years I spent running my family’s Midcoast lobster wharf. There was the whir of impeller blades pumping seawater into the lobster tanks. The roar of the propane blast heater, struggling to heat 200 gallons of water… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Technology that could trace seafood from boat to plate

Imagine being able to sit down and swipe your phone above your seafood meal and find out where it was harvested and who handled it along the way. This concept may not be too far off. In a recent conversation about emerging technologies that may impact the marine economy in… SEE MORE