An Atlantic sturgeon that measured 7 feet was caught in Merrymeeting Bay.

Working Waterfront

Holy leapin’ sturgeon!

Almost 20 years after a coast-wide fishing moratorium on Atlantic sturgeon was instituted, the giant, monstrous creatures of the deep are growing in numbers. Atlantic sturgeon live most of their lives in salt water, but hatch and spawn in fresh water. The species was once abundant, especially during colonial times. From the late… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Shrimp future remains cloudy

The continued closure of Maine’s shrimp fishery puts a strain on some of the state’s fishermen, but is having little impact on Maine’s restaurants, where the local seafood had been a winter favorite with customers. “It has not been a big impact on them because I think that restaurants, in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A school for ‘that kid who just wants to work on the water’

There’s a lot of work to be done before it opens its doors, but Eric Jergenson likes to point out that the Maine Ocean School already exists. No, it’s not a figment of his imagination—the public, magnet high school was established by state law in the last legislative session. By… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hangover or happy hour? Boothbay region sorts out change

Sustaining economic vitality while maintaining small-town character is an ongoing struggle for Maine’s coastal communities. In the Boothbay region, this dynamic has its own flavor, in part because the towns continue to enjoy strong boatbuilding and fishing businesses, along with tourism, and in part because some of the changes in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The trouble with March

I hate March. Someone described February as the two-month period between the end of January and the beginning of March, a completely unfair accusation. February is downright charming compared with March. February has the decency, usually, to provide at least a little snow, and a lot more if we are… SEE MORE

A fishing boat brings its catch to a buying station in Stonington.

Working Waterfront

Lobster catch at $533 million for 2016

Last year saw another record-setting catch, both in pounds and dollar value, for the Maine lobster fishery. The numbers, announced by the state’s Department of Marine Resources at the March 3 Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport, included more than 130 million pounds, for which harvesters were paid $533 million. Including bonuses… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Book review: National parks as ‘breathing places’

The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks. By Terry Tempest Williams When filmmaker Ken Burns set out to document the history of America’s “best idea”—our national parks—he called on a number of distinguished writers and historians to help testify to their special place in our land—and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A tale of three winter fisheries

By Susie Arnold, Ph. D. and Heather Deese, Ph. D. Winter on the coast of Maine in the 1980s and 1990s was a time for fishing urchins, scallops and shrimp. All three of these fisheries are now much smaller than they once were. Will they grow to create more economic… SEE MORE

Newman & Gray on Great Cranberry Island.

Working Waterfront

Passing the torch—Helping next generation of boatyard owners protects jobs, access

This is the second in a three-part series about the role boat builders and boatyards play in Maine’s coastal and island economy. Boatyards, marinas and boat builders represent a large part of the state’s island and coastal economies, accounting for more than 2,200 jobs. But these businesses, often run by… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cruise ship regularly used ‘magic pipe’ to discharge oil waste

The Caribbean Princess, a cruise ship that visited Maine, regularly used an illegal pipe from 2005 to 2013 to discharge oily wastewater, according to federal court documents. In a settlement announced in December, the cruise ship owner, Princess Cruise Lines Ltd., owned by Carnival Corporation, pleaded guilty to seven felony… SEE MORE