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Working Waterfront

Taking kelp from good idea to foodie favorite

By Sally Noble Seaweed was once that annoyingly crunchy dried stuff that Maine vacationers avoided on a summer beach. No longer. The hot new superfood is kelp, a large seaweed highly praised by national food writers at Vogue, The New York Times, Martha Stewart’s Civil Eats, Restaurant News and the Knorr Future 50 Report. And a… SEE MORE
A humpback puts on a show.

Working Waterfront

Whale-watching changing with the climate

By Tom Walsh Whales are apparently a lot like Goldilocks.   These massive marine mammals do not want their habitats to be either “too hot” or “too cold.” Instead, they migrate to “just right” marine environments that support their basic needs of feeding, breeding, and raising their young. Given recent… SEE MORE
Fishing boats in Grand Manan

Working Waterfront

Canadians try their own alternative lobster bait

By William Hall While tariffs imposed by China are focusing international attention on the demand for lobster, Maine’s top export product, a forum April 5 in Portland focused international attention on what lobsters demand. Nearly 150 people attending the Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen’s Town Meeting discussed potential solutions to the region’s shortage… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Shellfish gets a closer look at fishermen’s forum

By Susie Arnold The first day of the annual Maine Fishermen's Forum, held in early March, is traditionally "Shellfish Day," focusing on Maine's bivalve fisheries. Presentations covering wild harvested bivalves and farmed shellfish yielded valuable insights. By commercial license numbers, the soft-shell clam is the state’s second largest fishery, following… SEE MORE
Josh Spearing looks at different kinds of PFDs

Working Waterfront

To PFD or not to PFD…

By Tom Groening//Photos by Kelli Park A quick, random survey of a half-dozen fishermen on their use of personal flotation devices, or PFDs, at the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport on March 1 led to a telling moment. Philip Donovan, 48, who lobsters out of Bass Harbor, acknowledged that… SEE MORE