A shipwreck on the Passagassawakeag River invited archeological field work in September. PHOTO: COURTESY BELFAST MARINE INSTITUTE

Working Waterfront

Belfast school launches Marine Institute

That academic year saw the acquisition of an on-campus wet lab with a 500-gallon water tanker and kelp-growing materials, as well as a limited-purpose aquaculture license… SEE MORE

Cod drying on a Newfoundland shore. ADOBE STOCK

Working Waterfront

How Newfoundland fishermen protected their own

It was into this environment that the Fishermen's Protective Union was initiated by Newfoundland businessman William Ford Coaker. He recognized that the system meant fishermen had no direct access to markets or control over prices. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Coast Guard lands repair funding

Sen. Susan Collins, vice chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she has secured a total of $42 million in funding the U.S. Coast Guard requested for repairs to Coast Guard facilities in Rockland, Southwest Harbor, and Portland damaged by recent storms. This funding was included in disaster relief… SEE MORE

Marine

A seawall being built into a dune at Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York.

Working Waterfront

Rising seas—how high?

Last month, a group gathered in a conference room beneath the Marriott Marquis hotel in Washington D.C. They were there to discuss a question that’s relevant to all coastal residents: We know climate change is causing sea level to rise, but just how much will the water go up? The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

York County kelp firm wins grant

U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a value-added producer grant to Cold Current Kelp in York County. The company grows, harvests, processes, and produces value-added products from kelp raised offshore in Kittery. The business will match the $24,700 planning grant with another $25,000 and invest the total to develop business… SEE MORE

An aerial view of the Deer Isle Causeway looking northerly. The causeway is the only roadway linking Deer Isle and Stonington to the mainland. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Racing against the tide

For a short time, ambulances weren't able to transport patients to Blue Hill Hospital, fire trucks couldn't reach Little Deer Isle, and Versant Power crews couldn't repair downed lines. SEE MORE

A rendering of what the fish plant in Jonesport would look like.

Working Waterfront

Fish farm futures unclear

Two land-based fish farming proposals—one in Jonesport and one in Belfast—are in legal limbo at the moment, while a third proposed recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in Bucksport has let its permits expire. Since publishing this story in our print edition, Nordic Aquafarms has announced it has dropped its bid to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lora Whelan’s travel lift

“If you like industrial equipment, and I certainly do,” Whelan writes, “a travel lift is hard to resist.” She calls it “the lifeblood” of a boatyard, moving vessels from the water onto land. “I had never given it a good look-see to understand how it worked,” she relates... SEE MORE

Harvested rockweed on the shore in Hancock Point. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Court got rockweed case wrong

Commercial rockweed harvesting in Maine is not “unfettered.” This is a scare tactic. All rockweed harvesting in Maine is licensed by the Department of Marine Resources on location, frequency, and technology. SEE MORE

Bait bins on a pier in Cutler. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Working waterfront tax law is improved

It’s the letter no one wants to open—the dreaded perforated envelope from your municipality that comes once a year. Yep, you guessed it, your property tax bill. Taxes only seem to change in one direction, up, and if you live in coastal Maine, perhaps the slope of this curve is… SEE MORE