In September, Whole Foods launched a color-coded grading system to help customers know whether seafood purchased at the chain’s supermarkets come from sustainable fisheries. Under the grading system, fish species sold at the store with a green rating are considered sustainably caught. A yellow-grade means there are some concerns about the viability of the stock.
Linda Greenlaw arrives ashore
Linda Greenlaw, arguably Maine’s most famous fisherman, returned from the Grand Banks in early November. She and her crew were the guests of honor at a welcome reception at Portland’s Custom House Wharf on November 6. The reception included speeches, swordfish samples and autographs from the crew of the Hannah Boden. In front of hundreds
Canadian and U.S. fisheries pursue seafood certification
That same map shows just two U.S. fisheries actively committed to certification: the Atlantic deep red sea crab and Maine lobster fisheries. MSC has been on the lips of many in Maine’s fisheries and environmental communities. MSC certification of Maine lobster still is a contentious issue, but there’s concern among some U.S. fishery stakeholders that
An Uncommon Kinship*
2010 marked the third-annual Sustainable Island Living (SIL) conference hosted by the Island Institute. This year’s theme, “Island to Island,” focused on bringing active members of island communities from other parts of North America to the Maine coast. Keynote speaker Woody Tasch, founder of Slow Money, offered the suggestion that islands can set examples worthy
The Cranberry: Hard Work and Holiday Sauce
This diminutive fruit has had its economic and personal effect on those who have pursued it for a livelihood. What captures the reader’s imagination is the hundreds of old photos depicting the lives of the field workers, the gradual change to industrial agricultural and the inventive marketing endeavors that brought a fortune to companies such
Wild to Transgenic: Salmon in Maine
Until as recently as 1992, the first salmon caught in the Penobscot River was presented to the U.S. president. Today this river is at the heart state’s salmon restoration efforts. The Penobscot River Restoration Project, a collaboration between the Penobscot Indian Nation, six conservation groups, a hydro power company and state and federal governments has
Maine’s struggling ports get some gifts
Maine was once a major player in maritime commerce, building ships, shipping resources, and competing with Boston and Halifax for dominance in the trans-Atlantic trade. Now our ports count themselves lucky if they still shelter an inshore fishing fleet. The decline has been a century in the making, with places like Portland losing their markets
Cobscook Bay bottom maps available to fishermen
That has happened all too often on Cobscook Bay, especially around Fall’s Island. Since December 2008, for example, there have been seven fishing-related deaths and at least one near miss that could easily have cost three more lives. For Captain Bob Peacock, Eastport harbor pilot who also chairs the City Council, these statistics were personal.
Islesboro Eagles make playoffs
The Islesboro Varsity Soccer Team entered uncharted territory this season. And not just remote locations like Greenville, where the Eagles played a number of their away contests. Finishing the regular season in 3rd place in the Western division of Class D for the first time in school history, Islesboro secured a first-round playoff matchup with
Long View: Veritas, or does anyone remember Joe the Plumber?
The panel consisted of a cosmologist (not to be confused with a cosmetician), a New York City civil libertarian, a Los Angeles filmmaker, and a science writer and community organizer(me). The cosmologist/astronomer’s groundbreaking theories on the expansion of the universe had been verified by the exceptionally stirring images returned by the Hubble space telescope. But