Katie Ashley, a plant science Ph.D student at the University of Maine, poses with potato bins filled with lobster shells.

Working Waterfront

Lobster shells may protect potato crop

Scientists at the University of Maine are studying lobster shells as a possible aid to microbial communities to ward off soilborne potato pathogens. The novel shell-to-spud combination may connect two cornerstones of Maine’s food system and enhance the state’s circular economy. Potatoes are Maine’s top agricultural commodity with a value… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Fear of aquaculture not couched in reality

An article in the February/March issue The Working Waterfront outlined the fact that an increasing number of coastal towns in Maine fear, and are interposing regulatory measures that bar or limit, new and/or expanded aquaculture activities in their respective towns (“Towns fear, fight aquaculture expansion”). Similar (and somewhat stronger) views… SEE MORE

Maine Department of Transportation officials watch an Irving ship near the Mack Point terminal in Searsport in 2013. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Maine’s ports poised for growth

The future of Maine’s three state-supported shipping ports is bright, says Matt Burns, director of the Maine Port Authority. “We have a lot of activities on our plate out to the end of the decade,” Burns said during a Feb. 14 online presentation hosted by the Waterfront Alliance, a Portland… SEE MORE

A view of Greenland's glacial landscape. PHOTO: PETER NEILL

Working Waterfront

Greenland’s lessons for the climate crisis

I was in Greenland last year and travelled north to south along the western coast from Baffin Strait to the Atlantic Ocean, visiting the four major coastal towns of Illulisat, Sisimuit, Nuuk, and Narsaq/Narsasuaq. We travelled by coastal ferry and by internal air, at low altitude to see what is… SEE MORE

A summer afternoon on Swan's Island. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Institute implements resiliency program

The Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, will be working with Gouldsboro, Swan’s Island, and the Cranberry Isles to oversee implementation of the state’s Community Resilience Partnership (CRP). The CRP, a program of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, is designed for communities considering energy transitions… SEE MORE

Crustacean off Great Cranberry Isle. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Trends emerge on communities reliant on lobster

The value of Maine’s 2022 lobster fishery was $388 million, a decline of over $353 million compared to 2021. While this is a significant number, the total value of Maine’s lobster landings didn’t exceed $350 million until 2013. In addition, we know that the value of these landings is not… SEE MORE

Vinalhaven's lobster coop. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Lobster landings: catch remains high, price drops

Following 2021’s historically high values for Maine’s commercially harvested marine resources, harvesters in 2022 earned $574 million, an amount that is consistent with more recent history, according to preliminary data released from the Maine Department of Marine Resources on March 3. While overall value represents a 37 percent drop compared… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Working waterfronts ‘speak’ in podcast

Koch grew up on Deer Isle, where she was steeped in the stories and history of her community. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

On the record with… Project Puffin’s Steve Kress

Last fall, Dr. Steve Kress, PhD, received a lifetime achievement award from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Kress, 77, has a long list of credits to his name, but undoubtedly he is best known for the work he spent much of his career doing: restoring and managing breeding populations… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bees crucial to blueberries are in good shape

Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm with sustained winds greater than 155 mph, passed over 15 percent of the nation’s hives... SEE MORE