W.W. Norton & Co. 2009 Hardcover, 199 pages, $24.95 Solo wanderings in Acadia If you could never set foot on Mount Desert Island, Christopher Camuto’s book would take you on a tactile, sensory exploration of “a strong place…a violent place given the jumble of boulders…,” allowing you to feel “the vigor of this coast” while
A new system of fisheries management
Groundfishermen are in the midst of one of the biggest changes is fisheries management in decades. Starting May 1, a new management plan takes effect, allowing commercial fishermen to organize in “sectors,” to manage an allocation of fish. A sector is a group of fishermen and is not based on a geographical area. The new
Rediscovering the art of fish cutting
The Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative (MFC) began offering fresh-filleted fish to restaurants and their Port Clyde Fresh Catch Community Supported Fishery customers in June, and it is still available sporadically through the winter. Last year, only whole fish were offered, accompanied by filleting demonstrations at pick up locations. Customers have responded enthusiastically to the fillets, made
Refrigeration company is an immigrant success story
The story of Wolf Marine Systems, Inc., the first company to build and install large industrial refrigerated holding systems used in the seafood industry, is the old one of hard-working immigrants who, despite setbacks, reach eventual success. In 1922, Rena Belzer, jobless in post-World War I Germany, applied to emigrate to the U.S. In 1925,
Essay: Notes from a young innkeeper
During my one season as an innkeeper of the Chebeague Orchard Inn Bed and Breakfast, I never quite got used to the whole waking up at 6 a.m. thing. I ran out of eggs more than I would like to admit, sending my partner J Holt to raid his parents’ henhouse, “the girls” squawking and
Essay: Building DiMillo’s Marina
The year was 1978 and the fledgling Old Port District, Commercial Street and Long Wharf were decidedly different places. No trendy shops, hotels, coffee shops or narrated tours. It was the era of David “The Dogman” Koplow who fed his dozen or so loose dogs raw fish as they roamed the waterfront. DiMillo’s, then on
Fishermen react to proposed offshore wind testing sites
“There’s very little [ocean] bottom that isn’t fished for lobster,” stated Spruce Head fisherman Robert Baines, referring to state waters from the beach to three miles out. Ocean bottom chosen for offshore wind testing sites, “will inevitably displace fishermen,” he said. The Maine State Planning Office and the Maine Department of Conservation have nominated four
Sectors: A new course for fishermen
What are fishing sectors all about? It’s about the government trying to give another management option to New England’s groundfish fishermen. This new management plan, taking effect in May, will allow commercial fishermen in defined “sectors” to decide on their own how to manage their catch which will be capped by a limit. The sector
Featured Island Car: 1974 Chevy Custom 10 Sport Van
Vehicle: 1974 Chevy Custom 10 Sport Van Island: Vinalhaven Owner: Phil Roberts Milage: Over 340,000 miles Phil Roberts, who runs the Libby House Inn on Vinalhaven, wrote “This van was first named Blue # 2. For the last 17 years it has been called Desert Storm. In its first life, it hauled music students up and
Summers in Maine lead to romance, 70 years later
Every Sunday, the New York Times features “Vows,” an article offering backstory on a couple recently married, with their nuptials described in detail. Something special in the relationship and the event gives the story poignancy that a wider audience, beyond those personally knowing the couple, would appreciate. I’ve read them over the years. Sometimes the