Articles
CTC Ferry Service Seeking Stockholder Permission to go Nonprofit
Have you ever purchased shares of the Chebeague Transportation Company (CTC), even once just to get a reduced fare rate? If so, CTC wants to hear from you. The ferry and bus service is attempting to go nonprofit, and although the plan has received overwhelming approval from island residents and CTC shareholders, a vote to
Darden Restaurant Chain Aims to Grow Lobsters
Darden Restaurants, which controls the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, recently announced it is beginning to raise spiny lobster through aquaculture, with the goal of supplying aquaculture-raised lobster meat to its restaurant affiliates in Asia in the next decade. It is the first large-scale market attempt to use aquaculture for lobster meat. The move
Waterfront Communities Caught in Middle of Bond Spat
From the pull-out of the poultry industry to the loss of a large credit firm, downtown Belfast has weathered financial storms in the past. It’s taken creative thinking and planning among multiple administrations to keep Belfast shops full, but the effort has worked, according to Mayor Walter Ash. But while Belfast’s downtown bustles, its waterfront
Community Helps Coastal Farm Rise From Ashes
If you didn’t know better, Gouldsboro residents Cynthia and Bill Thayer sound like any pair of farmers excited about an upcoming barn-raising. “The slab has been poured,” Cynthia Thayer said in a phone interview. “Bill’s picking up horses today.” But this is no ordinary barn-raising at Darthia Farm. In the early hours of May 7,
Regional Ocean Planning Underway
The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) is ramping up its efforts to gather data and create a cohesive picture of current use of New England’s marine waterways. The council, a collaborative effort set up by New England’s governors in 2005 to create a unified regional approach to ocean planning, will reach out to stakeholders in
EPA Tells State to Open St. Croix to Alewives
In a July letter to Maine Attorney General William Schneider, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that the state’s efforts to block alewife access to the St. Croix River violate the Clean Water Act. The letter states that blocking the fish at dams on the St. Croix constitutes an unauthorized change to the
Army Corps Assessment
A proposed liquid propane gas (LPG) terminal at Mack Point in Searsport would only add six to eight new ships to a Penobscot Bay shipping lane that already can see more than 175 large commercial vessels pass through annually, according to a recently released U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environmental assessment of the project that
Massive Belfast Food Storage and Processing Plant to Open in July
Midcoast farmers, fishermen and food entrepreneurs will have a new option for storing and processing food this harvest season, as a massive $2 million food storage facility will go online sometime in July. The facility, operated by Coastal Farms and Foods, will operate a freezer and cold and dry storage for produce and fish, a
Shedders Arrive Weeks Early in Southern Maine
Because he fishes for lobster year-round in southern Maine, Kittery lobsterman Brad Parady is in a unique position to catch clues of how the state’s lobstering season might shape up. This spring, Parady noticed something very unusual in the lobster he was catching; many of them were shedders. Often, it’s said, spring lobster caught near
NOAA Closes Gillnet Fishery this Fall
Some parts of the Gulf of Maine will be closed to gillnet fishermen this October and November because the fishery has exceeded the allowable take of harbor porpoises caught as by-catch, NOAA officials announced in April. The closure most likely will repeat in October and November 2013, as the fishery already has exceeded its two-year