July 1, 2004, is the deadline for the Maine State Ferry Service and Casco Bay Lines to be in full compliance with Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA). Effective nationwide, MTSA applies to anything relative to maritime transportation – cargo and passengers – adjacent, on or under navigatible waters. Passengers can expect themselves, their vehicles and
Video Promotes Care in Handling Lobsters
Most people have no idea of the lobster’s fragility. Its hard shell, spines and claws protect its delicate, highly perishable meat. But properly cared for, lobsters can live out of water for up to two days. Because it’s important to handle and protect these sensitive, expensive creatures every step of the way from ocean waters
Newfoundland Lobstermen Act to Protect Their Stocks
Newfoundland’s cod fishery, the mainstay of the province’s fishermen, collapsed in 1992. The following year, lobster harvesters on its Eastport Peninsula experienced their worst year of landings ever. Chilled by the possibility of losing another fishery, they decided to do whatever it took to save their stocks. “Before the moratorium on cod, we had 248
Technology, Tradition Combine in Racing Boat Project
Pendleton Yacht Yard (PYY), of Islesboro is helping to pioneer a new method to repair and enhance the performance of traditional carvel planked wooden boats. The local yacht club races an aging class of Sparkman and Stephens designed Dark Harbor 20s. The Dark Harbor 20s are 20 feet long on the waterline and 30 feet
PEI’s Largest Seafood Processor Placed in Receivership
The troubled past and present of the fish processing company Polar Foods has turned into a troubled – and confusing – future. The company, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was placed in receivership on Feb 27, according to deputy provincial fisheries minister Lewie Creed. The receiver, Ernst & Young, issued a Notice of Request
Cruise Ships Galore Head for the Maine Coast
An armada of cruise ships will make 180 port visits and bring many thousands of tourists – and lots of money – to coastal Maine ports this year. Leading the fleet will be the largest and costliest cruise ship ever built, QUEEN MARY 2, which will call in Bar Harbor Sept. 27 and Portland Oct.
Changing Coast: At State Aquaculture Heaings, Questions are Often the Same
At an aquaculture lease hearing in Northport in February, a resident of Bayside angrily asked Joe Larrabee how he could get him to turn down the rock music Larrabee usually had blaring from his radio when he was working on his mussel raft 1,190 feet offshore. “Just ask,” answered Larrabee, who wasn’t aware that the
Peril at Sea
The U.S. Coast Guard faces some budget choices that would make even strong stomachs queasy. Newly burdened with Homeland Security duties but committed to maintaining its historic search-and-rescue role, the Coast Guard and its Congressional allies must choose between adapting its existing fleet to new conditions and – over a longer period of time –
Maine, New Brunswick, and LNG
A familiar drama is playing itself out on the Maine coast this year, set in two different communities so far but possibly in others as the year goes on. The story, of course, is where (or if) to locate a liquified natural gas facility in a Maine port. So far we’ve heard from Harpswell, which
Down to the Metal: War on Terror Forces Tough Coast Guard Budget Choices
Down at the Bollinger Shipyard in Lockport, Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard recently set about lengthening an old 110-foot cutter, The MATAGORDA, by an additional 13 feet. The better to accommodate a small, stern-launching boat, the Coast Guard thought – and that little boat needs to zoom around faster and more safely, now that the