In 2010, the way our groundfish fishery here along the coast of Maine is managed will be transformed from the current system where time spent on the water by fishermen is counted, to one where the fish taken out of the ocean will be counted. The decision to make this change, however, is happening now.
Neighbors pick on Islesboro crab proposal
“Lobster prices are horrible, and I wondered what I could do to keep fishing going. I talked to a bunch of people around town about the idea of a crab-picking operation and most thought it sounded like a good idea,” said Ilesboro resident Seth Wilbur. “Nobody had anything bad to say.” Current crab-picking regulations have
Rockland’s Apprenticeshop builds ‘sailing Swiss Army Knife’
With doom, gloom, layoffs and float rope being the topics of conversation along the working waterfront this spring, it appears the students at Rockland’s boat-building Apprenticeshop are having an inordinate good time. Instructors and students are weeks away from the launching of two identical 28-foot sail-training luggers. The boats meld together traditional lapstrake construction with
The Long View: In Maine, never takes seven years
Now that season has turned, yet again, ever so slowly, toward island summer, it is worth asking ourselves why so many people who are part of the great Maine Diaspora yearn to return to the state of Maine, if only for a few weeks a year. The answers go well beyond Vacationland. The real reasons
Down at the Docks
Pantheon, 2009 Hardcover, 304 pages, $24.95 Faded treasure The cover photograph says a lot. Wooden piles show above the water’s surface, marking where a dock once stood. The dock is gone, the piling a relic of the past. Rory Nugent’s new book, Down at the Docks, suggests that going down to the docks in many
Cranberry Report
Dan and Cynthia Lief have owned and operated the Islesford Dock Restaurant for the last 16 years. As they prepare for their 17th summer, they are also preparing for a new business venture; the Islesford Dock Gallery. The gallery on the dock will feature artists from Maine, South Africa, and a few places in between.
Island Institute awards scholarships to 96 island students
The Island Institute announced the 2009 Maine Island Scholarship awards, which will provide $130,000 in college scholarships to 96 island students who are pursuing post-secondary studies at colleges, universities and vocational/technical schools in Maine and around the country. Awards range from $250 to $6,000 and represent the Island Institute’s ongoing commitment to help island families
Matinicus fellow helps write new curricula for island school
For Lana Cannon, this is the job of a lifetime. As the Island Institute’s William Bingham Fellow for Rural Education on Matinicus, Lana is immersed in the local school, facing challenges with newfound skills that she believes will serve her for life, and making changes that will serve the school and the community far into
Islanders pick their battles with invasive species
Islands have their own unique ecosystems, but their isolation also makes them uniquely vulnerable to invaders from the mainland. Landscapers who want to use Japanese barberry in their garden designs aren’t welcome on Monhegan Island, for example. Bamboo doesn’t have any friends on Swan’s Island. Bittersweet is considered more bitter than sweet on Islesboro. Monhegan’s
Truckin’ with lobsters
The problem of moving live lobster from Atlantic to Western Canada or the Western United States so it arrives as fresh as it was when it came out of the water prompted Antigonish, Nova Scotia fisherman and self-taught engineer Joe Boudreau to buy into a holding system for live animals developed in the mid-nineties. “I