Hancock Street in Portland. PHOTO: MICHELE STAPLETON

Working Waterfront

The transformation of Portland’s eastern waterfront

Along the eastern waterfront, even more changes will come. A development company plans to build hundreds of housing units, retail space, a luxury hotel and a huge parking garage on land that formerly housed the historic Portland Co. at the end of Thames Street. SEE MORE

University of Maine doctoral candidate Phoebe Jekielk, right, works with students from Islesboro Central School in Stonington.

Working Waterfront

Students contribute to ‘archipelago of knowledge’

The crew of high school students and Hurricane Island educators joined Dr. Carla Guenther, chief scientist at the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, who is the principal investigator. The focus of this project is to understand where to find juvenile scallops... SEE MORE

A panel discussion on small-scale aquaculture in Stonington on April 24 included, from left: Marsden Brewer, Mike Talhauser, Abby Barrows, Christian Brayden, Jaclyn Robidoux, and Kyle Pepperman.

Working Waterfront

A way forward for marine economy: Small-scale aquaculture

Near the end of an April 24 panel discussion in Stonington, a speaker described what he hoped the harbor would look like 50 years from now. Today, early mornings see fishermen heading out in skiffs to their boats, off to haul traps in this top-landing lobster port. But in the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The importance of measuring greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gas assessments provide measurable evidence to show consumers environmentally friendly practices. SEE MORE

An aerial view of Sea Meadow waterfront marine center in Yarmouth. PHOTO: COURTESY TAYLOR APPOLONIO

Working Waterfront

Sea Meadow on firmer ground with funding

Sea Meadow is a 12-acre parcel along the tidal Cousins River, which flows into the Royal River and into Casco Bay. The property is located on a dirt road about a quarter mile from busy Route 1 and has been occupied by two boatbuilders for decades. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Noblesse oblige, Maine style

About 15 years ago, I had a most pleasant conversation with Linda Bean. I was covering the Maine Fishermen’s Forum for the Bangor Daily News and found myself sitting next to her at a session which had participants gathered in a circle. A fellow journalist had recently told me something… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Pathways to possibility

In the past ten years, we’ve invested over $1.2 million in education and career development. More than half of these funds have gone to our Mentoring, Access, and Persistence (MAP) scholarship. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Tourism research: Appeal to diverse visitors

It's not enough to put “Vacationland” on your license plate, have the world’s best supply of lobster, and host an island-based national park. The tourism marketplace is congested and competitive, and for Maine to remain successful, it must respond to visitation trends. The benefit of seeking and catering to a… SEE MORE

Business

A vacation rental property in Camden. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Short-term gain, long-term pain?

Short-term rentals have a long and storied history in Maine's coastal communities. On Mount Desert Island, for example, many families who “head up to camp” each summer rent their homes to seasonal visitors to earn extra income. In communities like Peaks Island and Deer Isle, families have long offered rustic… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Unhealthy progression: algae, bacteria, and hypoxia

Fishermen love their coffee, but they don’t want the ocean to look like it! Last summer, that is just what the ocean looked like across the Gulf of Maine, from Penobscot Bay to Martha's Vineyard. The brown water was the result of a massive bloom of microscopic algae (otherwise known… SEE MORE