Freeport’s clammers are at a crossroads. The Harraseeket River clam flats — the most productive in town — are in jeopardy of being permanently closed to harvesting because of pollution concerns from marinas and the Free-port Sewer District plant, which discharges into the harbor. A final draft report issued by the Maine Department of Marine
Who’s “odd”?
To the editor: I have just finished reading the February issue of Working Waterfront and I write in response to the article about Penobscot Island Air and its owner Kevin Waters. Mr. Roland Lussier, who owns Maine Atlantic Aviation, was quoted as saying “…there’s a sense of entitlement to daily air service that exists with
An Island of Readers
The inevitable question asked of islanders in the summertime is, “What do you do all winter?” For many folks in the Cranberry Isles, winter is the slow time we wait for all year. A number of people plan their travel for the winter months. Sue and Richard Hill are away for a few months to
Ship “:Allisions”
When a tug towing a barge grazed a bumper and a large salt ship crunched into another tug and barge near the Casco Bay Bridge this winter, no one seemed to take much notice. The Coast Guard dutifully interviewed everyone involved in both incidents and filed reports, but little more was said publicly. And as
David Nyhan and the Meaning of Friendship
Our friend David Nyhan, a Chebeague summer resident and nationally known journalist, died Jan. 23, after shoveling snow at his winter home in Brookline, Massa-chusetts. He was 64. David wrote for the Boston Globe for 32 years before retiring in 2001. It’s funny how we develop close a personal friendship with one person, while barely
Taxes and Conservation
The tax-writers are at it again in Washington, and one of the many oxen up for goring this season is the land trust community. A recent “alert” from Maine Coast Heritage Trust informs us of a proposal to “drastically cut back tax benefits for donations of conservation land and easements.” Just how the cuts would
Ham on Wry
There is a critical distinction between us on these islands, any small island for that matter, or between any isolated community and populations elsewhere. It’s a topic I’ve written about before but, because it is such a big deal, it bears re-visiting. The difference lies in our unavoidable interaction. We can’t get away from one
Trap Wars
When Maine set out to limit lobster traps in the mid-1990s, it imposed a cap on the number of traps an individual fisherman could set. But it didn’t freeze overall effort at a particular level, and as local zone councils set limits the result was more, not fewer, traps in the water. As we report
The Long View – Make your voice heard!
The first time someone from Maine visits a harbor in the Canadian Maritimes, there’s always the same epiphany — “Whoa! Take a look at those fishermen’s wharves!” Of course, the Canadian system of government investment and decision-making is vastly different than ours. But still, you cannot help but notice Canada’s large, expensive, well-maintained public wharves
Cod tagging continues; fishermen urged to return tags for rewards
Once the mainstay of New England fisheries, Atlantic cod has struggled to come back from record low levels. Recently, collaborative research programs have brought together fishermen and scientists to answer key questions The Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program is one such effort. In March 2003, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) launched the program