Working Waterfront

‘On-demand’ lobster gear permitted

A Massachusetts group aiming to help develop lobster traps that eliminate standing buoy lines recently received a split decision about whether the trap technology could be tested in waters closed to fishing as a protection for endangered North Atlantic right whales. On April 1, Pioneers for a Thoughtful Coexistence was… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine—as it should be, as it is

On a recent rainy day, I was able to indulge two interests—history and journalism. I was researching 1980s history for a story for our annual Island Journal about working waterfront access in Portland. Those who were here then will remember the turning point moment when condos—large, four-story structures—rose on Central… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Running the regulation gauntlet

My husband, Bruce, launched his lobster boat at the end of March and was setting traps by the first week of April. He spent the winter painting buoys, repairing old traps, and building new ones. By the time he was ready to set out again, 600 of his 800 traps… SEE MORE

Sorting lobster in Stonington. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

New lobster size rules considered

It never rains but it pours. That’s the way New England lobstermen already grappling with the May 1 deadline to comply with new rules aimed at protecting right whales must be feeling. The latest challenge is that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has put changing the gauge—the measure… SEE MORE

Nicolle Littrell operates Dory Woman Rowing in Belfast Harbor year-round. Here, she rows with a client on the harbor in September. PHOTO: COURTESY NICOLLE LITTRELL

Working Waterfront

On the record with… Nicolle Littrell of DoryWoman Rowing

With the pandemic, many of us moved our jobs to our homes, and within that space we may choose a room that is comfortable and maybe comforting, too. Nicolle Littrell put a twist on that idea, opening a business in Belfast that is based in her happy place—a 19-1/2-foot wooden… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Unpacking lobstering’s windfall year

The closest I have come to regretting giving up my lobster license was this past summer. My father's still an active fisherman, and as we had a beer and looked out at our wharf in Round Pond, he told me the boat price for lobsters. I was shocked! I will… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

We spoil our food with best-by dates

Hung in bunches in the cellarway, our onions sprout. Apples stored in spackle buckets soften. So do beets. Our carrots sprouted feathery tops but we ate them all before they had a chance to grow hairy rootlets. Keeping an eye on the potatoes means spotting white shoots before they get… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Belle elected head of national aquaculture group

Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association, has been elected president of the board of directors for the National Aquaculture Association. Since 1984, Belle has established best practices and advised commercial aquaculture ventures around the world, bridging private and public sectors. He has dedicated his career to demonstrating… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cape Cod dreams in Maine’s mud season

This time of year has me thinking about Cape Cod. I know the Cape is mostly a summer vacation destination, but for about 12 years my family spent the April school vacation there, always on the outer Cape. Let’s face it—Maine doesn’t do spring well. I become a bit dour… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Roux Institute envisions Portland as tech hub

Tucked between the shore and I-295 at the mouth of Portland’s Back Cove, the B&M Baked Beans cannery, built in 1913, was a landmark for city residents, tourists, and even mariners on Casco Bay, as well as the source of the aroma of cooking beans and molasses. For more than… SEE MORE