The January storms devastated the Rockland waterfront. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Planning for a stormy future pays off

Some local leaders are crediting municipal sea level rise and climate resilence committees for giving their communities a head start in the race for millions of federal, state, and private dollars that are now heading for Maine’s coast. “It’s really important to have this town infrastructure in place,” said Bill… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Saving our safe passage sentinels

It took an act of Congress and some well-placed support from then Sen. George Mitchell to seal the deal, resulting in the transfer of 27 lighthouses into caring hands. SEE MORE

Philip Frey’s “Ready for Lessons” (2023), oil on linen, 30 by 40 inches. PHOTO: COURTESY PHILIP FREY

Working Waterfront

Philip Frey on Hancock Point

The result is a paean to summer, to the quiet that follows a day of waterfront activities. SEE MORE

Fishermen return to the dock in Belfast after catching menhaden, also known as pogies. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Small fish, big role

In 2021, Maine’s commercial harvesters landed 22.1 million pounds valued at $9.5 million (Maine Department of Marine Resources data). SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sweat, tears, the sea (and rain)

The name of my column, Salt Water Cure, comes from an Isak Dinesen (real name, Karen Blixen) quote: “The cure for anything is saltwater—sweat, tears, or the sea.” I am stuck in a bit of an eddy of medical tests and waiting. Hopefully it will all be fine, but so… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Passamaquoddy Tribe secures $4.3 million

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has announced a $4.3 million grant to the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township in Princeton. The tribe plans to build an aquaculture facility to farm eels as an alternative to wild harvesting. The award was one of eight across the nation made… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Letter to the editor: ‘Protect the intertidal’

Protect the intertidal To the editor: In an opinion piece in The Working Waterfront July issue, Richard Qualey argues that the Maine intertidal zone between high and low tide should be universally accessible to the public. The current state of the law (and since 1647) is that the intertidal is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Looking backward, moving ahead

I’m just back from an hour’s row on a day that I think may be the first of summer. Clearly I’m hedging here, having experienced the spring, which started and stopped too many times to count. But it’s June 1, the sky’s clear and the sun’s out, the wind’s not… SEE MORE

Skippers students participate in aquaculture research counting scallops in spat bags. The enthusiasm of the students for this hands-on research is obvious.

Working Waterfront

Skippers program keeps school part of marine careers

Typically, students participate for one year, learning hands-on skills that will help them with present and future maritime careers. Although each program creates its own curriculum, the emphasis is on creating exciting opportunities that meet the needs of the community and students. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Local groups funded on Penobscot clean-up

The court-appointed trustee directing work to remediate mercury in the Penobscot River estuary has announced 13 Beneficial Environmental Projects (BEPs) that will receive funding to begin delivering tangible benefits to affected communities and ecosystems. These projects will begin to fulfill a 2022 settlement in which a federal judge approved a… SEE MORE