Articles
Lobster Shell Disease stretches DMR’s resources
Lobster shell disease “is a naturally occurring phenomenon,” says Terry Stockwell, liaison between lobster fishermen and the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). It’s been found over the years in traps and lobster tidal pounds from New Jersey to Nova Scotia. The problem, though, is that in the past three years, the incidence of shell-diseased
Easing the joints Sea Cucumber products find favor with elderly dogs, others
Entrepreneur Peter Collin, of Stonington, has come a long way since he began his sea cucumber odyssey in 1988, searching for a way to profit from the potential in the underutilized Cucumaria frondosa. He’s not yet able to retire on earnings from his anti-arthritic sea cucumber products, but he’s made giant progress since he and
Aiming High
There’s a thread of altruism that runs through the management of Stonington Sea Products (SSP). Not that they don’t have profit in mind, of course, but the do-gooder attitude is there and has been ever since the three-year-old business was just an idea. The plan, according to Richard Howe, president of the corporation and one
Castine lighting exhibit
The first moveable lighting device was probably a burning stick pulled out of a fire. Thousands of years later, people were still using the same method: a Medieval woodcut shows a man and a woman going about their chores, holding foot-or more-long torches in their mouths. American Indians and Puritan settlers used torches of pitch
Castine resident studies “buried” climates
Last winter’s bitter weather was more than most people cared to tolerate, but Paul Mayewski, of Castine, had no such complaints. Director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine-Orono, Mayewski has made more than 35 expeditions to such unimaginably inhospitable climes as Greenland, the Arctic, the Himalayas and Antarctica documenting changes in
Wiscasset’s famous wrecks become a work of art
Nine years ago, after closing a successful, six-month exhibit of his ship models at the Maine Maritime Museum, in Bath, artist and modelmaker John P. Gardner and his wife, Elaine, were having lunch at Le Garage, in Wiscasset. As they gazed out at the two abandoned schooners rotting in the mud, Elaine said, “Why don’t
Fiddler on the Roof brings out latent Deer Isle whiskers
Most Deer Isle men seem to be sporting beards these days This winter, Deer Isle residents were startled at the number of formerly clean-shaven islanders growing whiskers until they realized their fellow citizens were becoming bristly for a purpose. The men were turning themselves into turn-of-the-century Russian Jewish peasants at the eve of the Russian
Financing with heart: One man’s unusual approach made a big difference
“He was a fisherman’s friend … Optimistic … The kind of guy who really makes an impact on people … He’d look you in the eye and never lie to you … He was Mr. Marine Finance … He was very well respected and admired by everyone … He was very social, with an outgoing
Up In The Old Hotel and other stories
Vintage Books, Paperback, 716 pages, $16 When I found myself telling fishermen about this book, I realized that although some of the stories go back as far as 1938 – worth telling Working Waterfront readers about. Up In The Old Hotel is a compilation of four books Joseph Mitchell wrote during his illustrious career as
Beach Glass, Islander
Beach Glass by Frank Gotwals Islander by Cindy Lawson Coombs Frank Gotwals is a busy man. Lobsterman by day and folksinger by night, he writes his own songs about love and life and the sea both back when and now, and accompanies himself on guitar. An excellent musician, in his second CD, Beach Glass, he