Working Waterfront

Coastal aquifers face new challenges

Salty wells are not new to the Maine coast, but the problem is getting more attention in recent years. All aquifers are impacted by fluctuations in precipitation, particularly the big annual swings we've had recently in Maine with the entire state experiencing drought conditions in the summer/fall of 2024, following… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An old salt spills the fish guts

Most of his career was spent on shore, primarily as a seafood buyer at the Portland Fish Exchange for Foley Fish, and later as a salesman for Foley. Much of his book is devoted to his years on the Exchange and serving on the New England Fishery Management Council. SEE MORE

Former apprentice Matt Czuchra, left, and current apprentice Kelly Morgan sort oysters at Bombazine Farms. The image is from Maine Aquaculture Association’s Tending the Tides documentary, courtesy Maine Aquaculture Association.

Working Waterfront

Aquaculture apprenticeships accelerate workforce growth

Kelly Morgan moved from California to Maine to work on an oyster farm. By way of the Maine Aquaculture Apprenticeship Program, she landed a job on the New Meadows River in Brunswick farming oysters with Bombazine Oyster Company. SEE MORE

A rocky Maine shoreline speaks to large forces at work. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

Working Waterfront

Maine’s fractal coast

Day in and day out, summer after summer when I was a kid, I flew back and forth over Casco Bay with my father in his Piper Cub seaplane. From the air I saw thousands of spooked seagulls, smooth steel-colored sea rollers in identical ranks, wind-beaten chop, whales, porpoises, schools… SEE MORE

An image from the Boat School's early days.

Working Waterfront

Downeast boat school sees revival

To fund the first phase, the Friends won a $675,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a $120,000 grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, both of which enabled the replacement of the main building’s roof and asbestos removal, work that began in late spring. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine seafood is a ‘green’ choice

Make no mistake—our access to healthy seafood from fishermen and aquaculturists is under threat, along with the thousands of jobs and iconic heritage that bring it to your table. But there are available solutions that can both reduce the seafood sector’s GHG emissions and assist businesses on the financial side. SEE MORE

Humpback whale breaching. PHOTO: TOM FERNALD

Working Waterfront

Research highlights whale movement

A major study of humpback whale movement patterns across the North Atlantic basin is illuminating the behavior of at least one endangered species of whale. “Ocean basin-wide movement patterns of North Atlantic humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae,” published by the International Whaling Commission’s Journal of Conservation Research and Management, provides an… SEE MORE

Maine Maritime Academy's waterfront. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Maine Maritime Academy names president

Following a national search, the Maine Maritime Academy board of trustees selected Craig Johnson, an MMA graduate of the class of 1991, as its new president. SEE MORE

A boat unloads its catch at the Port Clyde Co-op in 2023. FILE PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Landings reports: good science, but unpopular

From the shore, the life of Maine’s lobstermen may look idyllic. They work their own hours and set their gear wherever they want. They enjoy spectacular sunrises and vistas of the open sea and the magnificent coast. And, at least from that shoreside perspective, they are unfettered by the constraints… SEE MORE

A former golf course is going back to nature. PHOTO: CATHERINE SCHMITT

Working Waterfront

Greens gone wild

“We’ll let forest regrow over most of the greens, but we’ll also maintain some area as open meadow to sustain birds as well as bees and other pollinators,” said Whittemore. The land trust is working with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service to assess wildlife habitat. SEE MORE