Working Waterfront

Good science: Ecosystem-based fisheries management

By Tom Groening Fisheries management needs to be more localized and more closely tied to the people who work in the fishing industry. Those values are driving organizations like the Stonington-based Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (MCCF), and this more sophisticated, nuanced approach to regulation was a theme at its… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island Lighthouse gets TLC

By Jennifer Helman Photos by Dale Joyce After withstanding coastal Maine weather for almost 150 years, the Swan’s Island Lighthouse is getting a much-needed facelift. The rehabilitation project consists of three phases: bricks, mortar and metal; foundation and drainage; and catwalk restoration. Tito’s Masonry of Portland is doing the first… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine’s right whale plan is due by September

By Susie Arnold The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) will submit a proposal to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in September outlining how the state’s lobster fishery will reduce its risk of entangling endangered North Atlantic Right Whales by 60 percent. Failure to submit a plan that meets… SEE MORE

The Eastern Seaboard as seen from space.

Working Waterfront

Massive freshwater aquifer may lie off Atlantic Seaboard

By Craig Idlebrook Researchers have discovered evidence that there may be a massive freshwater aquifer off the U.S. Atlantic coast, according to a new study published in Nature. The study provided evidence of a vast underground pool of water with low salinity that may span the coast of New Jersey to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Has Maine’s high court issued a public invitation to the beach?

By John Duff Maine’s unique history and lengthy coastline create a complex environmental and legal shorescape. The state’s common law recognizes private property interests that extend to the low water mark. But even when private owners hold title to the intertidal area, certain public rights, including fishing, fowling and navigation, are… SEE MORE

Capt. Pam Parker of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection christens Friends of Casco Bay’s new pump-out boat.

Working Waterfront

‘Headmaster’ educates boaters on keeping a clean bay

More than 100 people gathered June 10 on Portland’s waterfront to cheer the christening and launch of the Friends of Casco Bay’s 26-foot pump-out boat, a specially-built vessel that siphons raw sewage from the holding tanks of recreational boats, transferring the wastewater for shoreside treatment. Capt. Pam Parker of the state Department… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Locking up, locking down’—Belfast mariner explores inland waterway

By Tom Groening John Worth is a salty guy. Saltwater may not run in his veins, but he certainly has spent a lot of time in, on, and around the sea. He attended Maine Maritime Academy in Castine. He and his wife Trish ran Belfast’s first excursion schooner, the Sylvina Beal,for… SEE MORE

Marine

A view of the Spruce Head Fisherman’s Co-op in South Thomaston. The co-op will benefit from funding from the Land for Maine’s Future Program.

Working Waterfront

Sustaining Maine’s working waterfront

The Land for Maine’s Future Board has selected six projects that will help protect and sustain Maine’s working waterfront. Through the Working Waterfront Access Protection Program, funds have been set aside to purchase development rights, through a legally binding agreement between the state and working waterfront owners, which will ensure… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Beaches are soft frontline in the climate change war

By Tom Groening The sunny, vacation-vibe we associate with beaches was doused like a pelting thunderstorm at the 12th Beaches Conference in Kittery on June14. Instead of swimming and sunbathing, the gathering addressed the dire realities of sea level rise, unprecedentedly big storms, and dying marshes. “Why invest in Main Street… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Airboats find a home in Maine waters

Story and Photos by Kelli Park Long a staple for the swamps of the South, airboats are now finding their way into Maine waters. The flat-bottomed, fan-propelled vessels have grown in popularity, and find practical use in shallow water. Airboat hulls are built with aluminum or fiberglass and are coated… SEE MORE