Randy Cushman explains the workings of his modified net.

Working Waterfront

Randy Cushman’s balancing act… with a net

Long-time Port Clyde fisherman Randy Cushman is getting good results with his experiments to reduce flounder bycatch by increasing the mesh size of his net. It’s a bit of a balancing act. He’s aiming to find the right mesh size that will decrease bycatch of juveniles but still retain marketable… SEE MORE

Will Calkins and Abby Proctor at King Tide Farm

Working Waterfront

King Tide Farm takes root on Vinalhaven

Abby Proctor greets her customers at the Vinalhaven flea market with a bright smile and a friendly demeanor. She is soft-spoken and easy-going as she makes change and describes her freshly made pesto. For now, Proctor, 25, is the reluctant face of King Tide Farm. "It's very intimidating to be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How Tasmania’s lobster fishery responded to algal blooms

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. What issue has the ability to close down a fishery overnight, during peak fishing season, with no idea when fishing can resume? That question was posed by Hilary Revill, manager of the rock lobster fishery for the state of Tasmania,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Don’t overlook the hidden marine economy

Much of the joy that comes in working this newspaper’s “beat” is tied to the rich breadth of the stories we consider. We print and circulate 50,000 copies of each issue (we publish ten times a year), and those copies are found from Portland to Eastport. That geographic range is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Readers weigh-in on affordable housing

We recently sought reader thoughts on affordable housing, asking on The Working Waterfront’s Facebook page: Has your town already been priced out of the starter house market? If prices are high, what effects are you noticing? Are there too many seasonal homes? What might the state do to create more… SEE MORE

Wiscasset's historic downtown is on Maine Preservation's list of threatened properties.

Working Waterfront

Preserving our built heritage is worthwhile investment

By Greg Paxton and Sarah Hansen Maine’s jagged 3,478-mile coastline grows to over 5,000 miles with all 3,166 offshore islands included, and our maritime heritage established many of the state’s communities along the coast and tidal inlets. Worldwide ice caps and glaciers, which contain enough ice to raise sea levels… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Building a better lobster trap

It would be nice, Mark Brooks admits, if his family’s business could make just a few types of lobster traps. But with a laugh, he explains that lobstermen, legendary for their independent views on what works and what doesn’t, would not be the loyal customers they are if the company… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Demand for groundfish data continues to increase

The Sentinel Survey, now in its eighth year of research, collects data on the status of groundfish populations in Eastern Maine. The survey is conducted by Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, in collaboration with the University of Maine. Fishermen visit a total of 84 survey stations from June to October,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Museum hosts Maine Marine Fare, Sept. 9-10

Maine Marine Fare, a two-day symposium Sept. 9-10 at Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, focuses on what we take from and eat from the sea off the Maine coast, featuring Paul Greenberg as the keynote speaker at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Greenberg, a James Beard Award winner and author of Four Fish and American Catch,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Digging into the data about our marine economy

Look out at Rockland Harbor and you may see a tanker heading up the bay to Searsport, a midwater trawler coming in with a load of herring, or the cement tug and barge heading south. Thanks to a federal ocean planning initiative, those interested in the maritime world can do… SEE MORE