The work is hard-physically demanding, requiring long hours spent outdoors no matter what the weather, with no guarantee of how much you’ll earn or if you will even make enough to cover your expenses. But you can imagine some contentment from consumers when the product you are harvesting is in kitchens or on a table,
Deciphering mysterious world of lobster pricing
Nobody will ever fully understand how people price lobster. That’s a given. To begin with, no matter what the boat price, i.e., the price per lb. for lobster paid to fishermen, most don’t believe they’re paid adequately for the lobster they risk their lives to land and bring back to shore to sell. Many fishermen
With tough winter ahead, islanders plan heating help
The extraordinarily high cost of heating oil will affect everyone in Maine this winter, and islanders are no exception. Their costs, in fact, generally prove to be higher since island oil companies must pay additional transportation costs to deliver the product by ferry. On islands along the coast, various groups are already preparing to help
New sardine history museum opens in Jonesport
“Sardines are in my blood,” said Ronnie Peabody, 53, director of Jonesport’s new Maine Coast Sardine History Museum. “I grew up hearing sardine carriers and factory whistles since the day I was born.” Each of Jonesport’s then existing three sardine factories whistled to signal the change in shifts and the arrival of a load of
Inheriting the Trade: A Northern Family Confronts its Legacy as the Largest Slave-Trading Dynasty in U.S. History
An evil business that benefited a whole country Slaving was a maritime trade in the 18th and early 19th centuries, a block in the very foundation of the United States. Anyone, particularly a white New Englander who likes to think he or she didn’t benefit from slaving because it was a Southern phenomenon, is sadly
Love On the Rocks: Stories of rustications and romance on Mount Desert Island
Pack your bags for Mount Desert’s gilded age Such remote alternate social world is revealed in the utterly charming anthology, a revisit to the romance of old Bar Harbor which spawned an avalanche of short stories and writings called Bar Harbor novels about Mount Desert Island in the 19th century. The water that surrounds the
Latinos putting down roots Downeast
Roberto Zamora may be the face of Milbridge’s future. Washington County has been losing population due to a high unemployment rate and bleak economic future, but Latino families like Zamora’s have been bucking the trend and moving into the area. The August blueberry harvest used to be the only time of the year when the
Over 400 attend annual haddock bake
The Midcoast Fishermen’s Association (MFA) of Port Clyde held its annual haddock bake on August 9. Attendees of the event were welcomed at the door of the Martinsville Grange with appetizers of bacon wrapped scallops and Maine shrimp tarts. Over 400 attended. Volunteer head chefs Rhonda and Doug Anderson followed these tasty appetizers with a
Another bailout for Saint John-Digby ferry
The ferry service between Saint John, New Brunswick, and Digby, Nova Scotia, on the Bay of Fundy has received a second funding reprieve-a total of 15.1 million from the governments of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Announcement of the funding was made by Peter MacKay, National Defense Minister who also holds the portfolio for
Monhegan store owner seeks sustainable island living
Running any kind of store on an island is a big challenge, what with ordering from the mainland, paying the freight for the boat, and making sure the produce is fresh. For Tara Hire of Monhegan, there is the added hurdle of obtaining and marketing organic foods, preferably as locally grown as possible. In this