Articles
Beachfront septic and ‘badass’ monkfish
North Carolina’s Outer Banks Voice reports on a state ruling that will make it easier for the owners of beachfront houses whose septic systems were destroyed in storms to rebuild, “as long as they are 50 feet from the water at low tide.” State rules generally prevent owners from rebuilding if 50 percent or more
EU takes on fishery reform
The European Union is taking on fishing reform. Its parliament voted 502-137 in February on a package that protects endangered stocks and ends the practice of throwing unwanted, dead fish overboard, the BBC reports. Such discards are believed to account for a quarter of all catch. The changes could become law next year. A spokeswoman
Catch limits and propane problems
The limits facing New England fishermen on May 1 are being reported and discussed around the nation. In particular, efforts by those in Congress to compensate fishing families for their projected loss of income are dominating the news. The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. reports that Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Alaska Republican Sen.
Tug-barge funds aim at boosting Portland shipping
PORTLAND — A new way of shipping container freight along the East Coast is taking shape, at least on a drawing board, thanks to federal funds. McAllister Towing and Transportation, a New York-based firm that builds and operates tugs and barges, has been awarded $150,000 in federal grant funds to design an articulated tug-barge that
A vision born on the wings of eagles… and fog
CAMDEN — The 1980s were a turning point for Maine. Fifty years after the Great Depression, an influx of people and money began to bring change. And most of it was good. Philip Conkling, founder and president of the Rockland-based Island Institute notes that in 1980, Maine’s population hit 1 million, recovering from a century
Weirdness on the water
HARPSWELL — Spend enough time out on the water, and you’re bound to experience some weird stuff. Especially, as is the case for many fishermen, if that time is spent alone. That weird stuff—occurrences that can’t be explained, life-or-death drama or maybe a sense of impending doom or disaster that prompts a change of plans—will
Island caretakers essential to local economy
ISLESBORO — The feeling of escape Mike Boucher enjoys when he retreats to his hunting camp near Moosehead Lake is not very different from what the owners of the island’s many mansions feel when they arrive here in the summer. They treasure the time they can step out of their busy, typically urban lives for
On the record with… Colin Woodard
ROCKPORT — If you don’t know who he is, you should. Colin Woodard is becoming one of Maine’s preeminent thinkers, writers and journalists. The topics he tackles spring from a Maine sensibility, but his work is not bound here. His books include “The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier,” a
Every picture tells a story…
NEW HARBOR — The photo captured a moment in time, but the players in that shutter-click instant probably had no idea that what they were doing would soon fade into history. The May issue of The Working Waterfront featured one of the photographs from National Fisherman’s archives. Those photo archives were recently donated to the
The world’s largest sailing vessel: Wyoming on the Kennebec
BATH—The launching of the Wyoming into the Kennebec River on a cold December day in 1909 was a big deal. Big, because the Wyoming—named for the state where its principal investors lived—was the largest wooden sailing vessel ever built at that time. That time would prove pivotal in maritime history, as shipbuilding shifted to steel