A right whale that has recovered from wounds linked to fishing gear.

Working Waterfront

Right whale story misled readers

By Patrice McCarron I was disheartened by the article on the plight of North Atlantic right whales on the front page of April’s The Working Waterfront. The story and accompanying photo misleads the public about interactions between the Maine lobster fishery and right whales and runs counter to the Island… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

No benefits to Maine for allowing offshore drilling

By Kristin Jackson It’s no secret that Mainers rely on the ocean. Whether it’s our lobstermen hauling traps, our seaside inns welcoming guests, or our families visiting the shore, our legendary coastline and clean and healthy ocean drive our economy and way of life. No wonder Mainers from all walks… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Public ownership of Maine’s shore: courts got it wrong

By Orlando E. Delogu In my new book, Maine’s Beaches Are Public Property, I argue that the state’s highest court, the Law Court, got it wrong in its 1986 and 1989 rulings. The court should have concluded that title to Maine’s intertidal lands is not held by adjacent upland owners,… SEE MORE

A sailboat that broke free during the Oct. 30 story on the shore in Belfast.

Working Waterfront

Planning for effects of a changing climate on Maine’s coast

By Lydia Blume I have sponsored a bill, LD 1095, "An Act to Establish the Maine Coastal Risks and Hazards Commission," that the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resource Committee will work on when lawmakers reconvene in January. The bill proposes a commission to examine the risks that hazards such as storm… SEE MORE

Rockweed landed at a boat yard in Hancock.

Working Waterfront

Compromise possible in rockweed harvesting lawsuit

By Merritt Carey, Sean Mahoney, Tim Glidden, and Shep Erhart Lawsuits have a tendency to box parties in; they don’t allow for the nuances, complexities, and compromises that make up the realities of life, particularly life on Maine’s working waterfront. A lawsuit filed by three landowners in Washington County in… SEE MORE

Wiscasset's historic downtown is on Maine Preservation's list of threatened properties.

Working Waterfront

Preserving our built heritage is worthwhile investment

By Greg Paxton and Sarah Hansen Maine’s jagged 3,478-mile coastline grows to over 5,000 miles with all 3,166 offshore islands included, and our maritime heritage established many of the state’s communities along the coast and tidal inlets. Worldwide ice caps and glaciers, which contain enough ice to raise sea levels… SEE MORE

A wooden trap decays on the shore in Corea.

Working Waterfront

A new, plastic threat to ocean health

By Charles A. Kniffen Twenty-five years of kayaking the Maine coast from Brown Cow ledge in Casco Bay to trailing minke whales off West Quoddy Light; one-quarter of a century picking up storm-tossed lobster pot buoys, ragged drapes of seine, wild tangles of beached trap-line, big, rubber mooring buoys, et.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Global warming, climate change are two issues

Rob Snyder’s “Field Notes,” entry No. 41 in the July issue of The Working Waterfront, “Climate decisions reflect on who we are as a nation,” concerned me. Rob is a respected friend of mine. Being a scientist/engineer, there is little doubt in my mind that CO2 emissions have warmed the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thoughts at my son’s gravesite

This column first appeared in the May 18 edition of the Deer Isle-Stonington Island Ad-Vantages newspaper, and is reprinted with permission. By Roger Greene Son, you know I will always love you and cherish the beautiful times of your life we had together. But these memories become an anguish when… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Private air-traffic control could impact Penobscot Bay

By Kevin Waters In 1998, an ice storm swept through Maine, leaving some communities completely inaccessible. Without general aviation, many towns and island communities would have been cut off from resources for an unknown period. It was general aviation pilots who stepped up to the plate, providing a vital link to ensure… SEE MORE