Islanders and others from the length of the Maine coast attended an Oct. 25-26 conference on “The Affordable Coast,” held at the Island Institute in Rockland. The two-day meeting focused on rising property taxes, the lack of affordable housing on islands, and shrinking access to the working waterfront. The meeting was organized by the Institute
North Haven, Vinalhaven, Portland students share a filmmaking weekend
Over the weekend of Oct. 18-20, five students from North Haven and two students from neighboring Vinalhaven participated in a workshop with students and professors from Portland-based Maine College of Art (MECA) on original film projects. Anne Bertus, MECA professor of Graphic Design, had visited the school before and was eager to return and work
Second generation enters the aquaculture business
In their efforts to raise American oysters (Crassostrea virginica), Eric Horne and his wife, Valy Steverlynck, are on the cusp of a new sort of generational fishery that’s likely to become more prevalent in Maine. When Eric was born 33 years ago, his father, Peter Horne, and his friend, Dana Wallace, were experimenting with quahog
Fish growers agree on bay management plan
For the past year, the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) has been working with finfish growers to develop a Fin Fish Bay Management Agreement that will govern all finfish farming operations in the state. The purpose of the agreement is to promote sustainable aquaculture, which has been defined by the United Nations World Commission on Environment
Cleaning the coast
Imagine wrestling a sea gull for a piece of plastic. Theresa Torrent-Ellis, who heads Coastweek, the Maine coastal cleanup program, had to. “My children saw him with the plastic in his mouth and were very concerned,” she said. “Once the gull saw that I had interest in it, of course, he was even more interested
Island election results
Chellie Pingree, whose political career began on North Haven, received the most votes in 10 out of Maine’s 15 island voting districts. Pingree lost her statewide race for the U.S. Senate to Susan Collins, of course, but Collins prevailed on only five islands – Swan’s, Long, Frenchboro, Great Diamond and Great Cranberry (one of two