Working Waterfront

DMR wins grant to study right whale protection

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been awarded a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve the data used to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. The $714,245 grant will support a three-year project beginning this summer to improve and add data on fishing gear that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine native battles Trump on climate resilience

When you are young and you’ve done something that has you pumped, it’s often your parents’ reaction that sobers you up. This is true, scientist Joel Clement found out, even when you’re middle-aged. Clement, the former director of the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Policy Analysis, took on the Trump… SEE MORE

A right whale bearing the wounds of an entanglement with fishing gear.

Working Waterfront

DMR wins grant to gather more data on right whales, fishing gear

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been awarded a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve the data used to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. The $714,245 grant is administered by NOAA. The three-year project, which begins this summer, will support work on fishing gear that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Wet feet in problematic places

The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World By Jeff Goodell Reviewed by David Platt We live on a tidal river in southern Maine, on the western side of the Gulf of Maine. We rebuilt our dock a decade ago, raising it a few… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Contrary survey results are puzzling scientists

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. Given the talk on the wharves all year, it was no surprise to hear the official 2017 numbers on Maine’s lobster fishery—110.8 million pounds with a value of $433.8 million, down nearly 22 million pounds from 2016. With this large… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lyme disease rates spur Swan’s Island deer hunt

With as many as half the ticks on Swan’s Island infected with Lyme disease, state officials approved a special hunt to reduce the deer population, the primary host animal for the ticks. The hunt concluded on March 1. Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife biologist Thomas Schaeffer said a study… SEE MORE

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Estuary Beat: Flooding, fish migration, and salt marsh restoration

Nor’easter brings more flooding, damage to coast A northeasterly storm in early March brought another spate of flooding and damaging waves to Maine bays and estuaries. For three days, heavy winds pushed lunar high tides into roadways and parking lots. Along Saco Bay, water was knee-deep in Camp Ellis, a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

No benefits to Maine for allowing offshore drilling

By Kristin Jackson It’s no secret that Mainers rely on the ocean. Whether it’s our lobstermen hauling traps, our seaside inns welcoming guests, or our families visiting the shore, our legendary coastline and clean and healthy ocean drive our economy and way of life. No wonder Mainers from all walks… SEE MORE

A right whale entangled by fishing gear in Canadian waters.

Working Waterfront

When right whales die, lobstermen get nervous

Seventeen endangered North Atlantic right whales died in Canadian and U.S. waters in 2017. Now scientists are saying the increase in deaths and decrease of calving rates could mean the species’ “functional” extinction in just over 20 years. The situation is alarming Maine’s lobster fishermen, because some of the deaths… SEE MORE

Lobster boats moored in Corea Harbor in autumn.

Working Waterfront

Lobster landings, value dipped in 2017

Lobster landings and the value of the catch both decreased in 2017, but Department of Marine Resources officials say the fishery remains strong. Almost 111 million pounds of lobster were landed in Maine last year, down from 132 million pounds in 2016 and 122 million pounds in 2015. Landings have… SEE MORE