Working Waterfront

Signs of spring in our rivers and bays

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. As the warmth finally starts seeping into our bones, the grass greens up and flowers bloom, other signs of spring emerge in our harbors and rivers: the migratory and river-run fish. As anglers dig out rods, reels, lures, and flies—or… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Nothing simple about four walls and a roof

The 35-year-old recovering alcoholic living in his car as he gets his life back together and the $4 million, seasonally occupied house blocking views of the water illustrate just part of the range of Maine’s housing issues. But however broad and complex, we would do well to understand these matters,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A moored boat is only as safe as its line, chain, and shackle

A piece of hardware smaller than a fist is all that stands between that beautiful sailboat, perhaps costing a couple of hundred thousand dollars, and devastating damage from a collision with the rocky shore. Well, there is something else—someone else, actually—standing between that expensive boat and potential disaster. It’s Fields… SEE MORE

The map shows the approximate route the undersea electric cable will follow from hydro and wind power projects in northern Maine

Working Waterfront

Proposed undersea cable would cross Gulf of Maine

The parent company of the electric utility Emera Maine hopes to establish an undersea cable linking electricity generators in northern Maine, Newfoundland, Labrador and Nova Scotia with users in Massachusetts. The 350-mile-long cable would cross through the Gulf of Maine from Coleson Cove, just west of Saint John, New Brunswick,… SEE MORE

An artist's rendering of the new facility planned for Great Wass Island.

Working Waterfront

Downeast Institute begins expanding facility on Great Wass Island

A $1.8 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation tops off the funding needed to complete a $5.8 million expansion of the Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education. The facility is the marine science field station of the University of Maine at Machias and is located on Great… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Portland pier dredge could use new technology

On a raw spring day at the beginning of May, a geotechnical team drilled into the ocean floor in the shallow waters just east of the U.S. Coast Guard station in South Portland. The team was getting borings to help determine if the site is appropriate for Maine’s first… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Paul Anderson succeeds Robin Alden at fishery nonprofit

The Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (MCCF) has named Paul Anderson as its new executive director. Anderson will begin working at the Stonington nonprofit in September and will fully assume executive director duties Jan. 1. Anderson will succeed founder Robin Alden as executive director, who is stepping down after 14… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Historic Pilgrim’s Inn, a Deer Isle landmark, finds new owners

Walking into the Pilgrim’s Inn, the slight undulation of the 14-inch-wide floorboards immediately gives away the fact that this is a historic building. Then there are other wonderful features. Large fireplaces and chimneys are made of handmade bricks and have beehive ovens set in the back and pot-hanging trammels over… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Weather, The Great War and a homeward bound schooner

Let’s start with the weather. It’s April, that often cruelest of months, as this is being written. In Maine, April is a flirt, flashing a warm, beckoning smile one day, and spitting snow the next. This winter followed the pattern of last year’s, easier on the snow and cold—though in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islands on the mind and a beer in hand

Maine and the country have seen amazing growth in the craft brewing business. This evolution began over 25 years ago, and there are now over 80 breweries in Maine. People appreciate a better tasting product and are willing to seek it out. The brewing community is a passionate group that sees… SEE MORE