Working Waterfront

National monument process rankles fishermen

A land map of the United States reveals a patchwork of federally protected areas, while a map of the Atlantic Ocean, until recently, had no protected areas. That changed in September when President Barack Obama set aside an ecologically rich swath of waters southeast of Cape Cod for a new… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Saving coastal general stores: High property values, taxes hamper profitability

Will the small community general store go the way of the village blacksmith? Time will tell, but an analysis of the forces at work on the Maine coast offers a clear view of the challenges and some examples of how success might be found. The report, completed by Merritt T.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine and the Arctic: Opening waters emblem of environmental disaster, economic opportunity

Sen. Angus King’s analogy succinctly set the scene. “It’s like the sudden discovery of the Mediterranean Sea,” King said, an early speaker in a day-long forum devoted to the Arctic at Portland’s University of Southern Maine on Oct. 3. Though the Arctic region has been extensively explored, the rapid melting… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fisheries advocate Alden named White House ‘champion’

Robin Alden, a former commissioner of the state’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and current director of the Stonington-based Penobscot East Resource Center (PERC), has been named a White House champion of change for her work on sustainable seafood issues. The honor was bestowed in a ceremony on Friday, Oct. 7.… SEE MORE

Pedalers on the foot-powered Maine Baycycle enjoy their beverages.

Working Waterfront

Going footloose on Casco Bay

PHOTO STORY BY KATIE JOHNSON There’s a new boat in town, and a new way to get out on the waters of Casco Bay. Maine Baycycle, run by captain and Peaks Island native Neil Kinner, provides a 90-minute pedal powered cruise of Portland’s waterfront that’s different from anything else out… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Financial hacks for fishermen

A version of this column first appeared in Landings, the newsletter of the Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance and is reprinted here with permission. Thinking about a new boat? Knowing how to pay for it is important. To help fishermen better understand financial management, the Vinalhaven Coop brought some experts from… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Guests find motel romantic, fisherman- and mink-friendly

I customarily do an end of year wrap up of the summer’s high points at the Tidewater, the motel on Vinalhaven I own and operate. It’s a great business to be in. Almost without exception, every visitor is delighted to be here, happy to be on vacation, relieved to be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Making a living from a changing sea

By Heather Deese, Ph. D. This summer I had dozens of conversations about the changing Gulf of Maine and how these changes play out in our local fisheries. Many conversations took place in community halls and theaters during evening “A Climate of Change” events featuring four short films produced by the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Quoddy Tides chronicles maritime community

The Quoddy Tides bills itself as the “Most Easterly Newspaper Published in the United States.” That’s neither an idle boast nor an irrelevant fact. As editor and publisher Edward French chats with me about the paper’s history and role at its office on the Eastport waterfront, he glances out the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Stonington, Blue Hill area fishermen want to close lobster zone

Zone C has shut down its open-entry system into the lobster fishery. The state’s lobster fishery is divided into seven management zones, arrayed in a line along the coast from the Canadian border to the New Hampshire border. Zone C is the third one heading from east to west, and… SEE MORE