A new group focused on tax relief in Casco Bay met twice in early May, with over 100 people in attendance at both meetings. The group has split into six committees: Legal Action, Legislative Action, Coalition Building, Tax Relief, Publicity and Secession. The Legal Action Committee began its first efforts in direct response to Portland’s
Legislators brief Maine Islands Coalition
The Maine Islands Coalition met May 6 in Rockland with 30 people in attendance. Representatives from Cliff, Monhegan, Cranberry Isles, Town of Long Island, Islesboro, North Haven, Swan’s, Matinicus, Frenchboro, Peaks, Vinalhaven, Little Diamond and Great Diamond attended. State Sens. Dennis Damon and Ethan Strimling also took part in the meeting. The Coalition was formed
Rough seas, nesting birds thwart Matinicus Rock’s latest ramp project
Matinicus Rock, remote light and haven to protected puffins and other seabirds, is notorious for high seas and inaccessibility. So it’s no surprise that efforts to rebuild a boat ramp at the former U.S. Coast Guard station there have been thwarted by weather. For years the wooden ways on barren Matinicus Rock have been battered
“They’re impossible to avoid” – Council allows herring vessels to take some haddock
Maine ground fishermen are less than thrilled with a government proposal to allow herring vessels to land 1,000 pounds of juvenile haddock per trip, but regulators say the by catch allowance is the only way to allow the herring fleet to go fishing this season. “Of course the groundfish people are not happy that herring
Mountain Man A Deer Isle artist-fisherman lives life to the full
“To me, making art is the hardest kind of work,” said Deer Isle artist Larry Moffet, and that’s saying something because the 56-year-old Moffet earns his living as a lobsterman and boatbuilder. He works in oils, watercolors, pastels, woodcuts, cut paper and silver, has taught paper-cutting and has exhibited his work at Deer Isle’s Turtle
New West Point Strip Boat preserves a piece of Casco Bay history
Last winter, Richard Nichols could be heard tap-tapping in the vinyl Quonset hut he had set up in his yard, side-nailing about 50 pounds of silicon bronze ring nails into white pine strips to form the hull of his first West Point Strip Boat. He hopes there will be many more. The boat’s design, lifted
Offshore Newfoundland cod are still “doing very, very poorly”
Offshore cod stocks off Newfoundland are “doing very, very poorly,” according to George Lilly, fisheries ecologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, but they are not “in peril,” as had been reported. “Those were not my words,” Lilly said from his office in St John’s, Newfoundland, “but the situation, obviously, is serious, as it has been
Veteran Maine fisheries manager receives award
Lewis Flagg, Deputy Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, recently received one of six Annual Awards of Excellence bestowed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for his contribution to the success of fisheries management. Flagg, a 40-year veteran fisheries manager, has been “instrumental in promoting and securing Maine’s policy of restoring anadromous
Legislature may ban “offal” in alternative lobster bait
An amended form of LD 527 (the alternative bait bill) was voted out of committee with a unanimous “ought to pass,” earlier this session, and was awaiting final approval by the Maine Legislature in May. The original bill was drafted by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) and was sponsored by state Sen. Dennis Damon (D-Hancock).
Canadian crab protests escalate to a “fishermen’s arrest”
Anger over changes in the crab industry, Newfoundland’s most lucrative fishery, escalated in recent weeks and resulted in occupation of a government building in St. John’s, a port blockade and a “fishermen’s arrest” of a Portuguese trawler cited by Canadian inspectors in the past for illegal fishing. The “arrest” came when the AVEIRENSE headed into