Articles
Sprawl and Future “Listening sessions” draw out new questions, approaches
If the values that Mainers feel best about seem threatened, those same values also represent the very strengths that can recharge community and economic life and send sprawl into remission, according to experts from the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution. A major study by Brookings, sponsored by GrowSmart Maine and due for release in September, will
Protecting “Maine Lobster” is now a top priority
When Kristen Millar became the Maine Lobster Promotion Council’s new executive director two years ago, she wanted to know who buys lobster, where it is processed, what are customers’ preferences, what are the profit margins. You can’t market a product you don’t know anything about, Millar pointed out. There was no information to be found.
When it Comes to the Internet, Not all Islands are Equal
For islanders, the World Wide Web comes in three flavors: wireless, satellite and through the phone line. Many island communities enjoy the luxury and time saving convenience of broadband, or high speed, Internet access. While accustomed to their isolation and privacy, islanders also say they want to be able to jump onto the “information highway”
“Maine Lobster”
Ask anyone from Tucson to Trenton what comes to mind when they hear “Maine” and the next word out of their mouth is bound to be “lobster.” Maine lobster as a brand evokes the quality, purity, and traditional livelihood people associate with Maine’s quality of life more than any other marketing tool. Yet research by
Bait Barrel Kids and Other Maine Tales
High Adventure at an Early Age Unless you’re from Melrose (the author’s moniker for anyplace from away), Bait Barrel Kids and Other Maine Tales is an indispensable guide to the way life really should be. In this collection of first-person stories, Gary Anderson delivers tales of adventure and survival of a kid growing up in
A Window Through Time
Freeport’s “Study House” Photographer John G. Kelley’s collection of 27 black and white images in A Window Through Time is more than an art book. In this still-life study of the historic saltwater farm house on Freeport’s Harraseeket River where Millie Pettengill lived until 1975, the work, life and imaginations of Pettengill Farm’s 165 years
Stripers and Lobsters – Is there a new predator in our midst?
When it comes to fisheries management, a “balanced ecosystem” is everyone’s goal. In this scenario no single species dominates, and the food chain becomes complex and diverse, so that it is well buffered from fluctuations in individual fish populations. The bad news is, we’re not there yet. The good news is there are plenty of
Coastal Character: On the Maine coast, working waterfronts set the tone
A working waterfront is like an iceberg: the visible part is much smaller than the subsurface mass that keeps it afloat. The parts above water that we see are the workings and machinations of coastal marine enterprises – fishing and related piers and wharves where the catch is bought, sold, shipped, processed or auctioned off;
“Sustainability” – It’s a term we hear everywhere, but defining it can be tricky
“Sustainability” is a term we hear constantly in modern parlance, including in recent reporting of the sustainable seafood trend highlighted at this year’s International Boston Seafood Show (WWF April 2005). “Sustainability” enjoys such broad application that defining it is a challenge. It is most commonly used in reference to natural resources from farming to forestry
Buyer Beware
The Fish List (www.thefishlist.org) is a website provided by Environmental Defense, Blue Ocean and the Monterrey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. The website claims to offer consumers “a fast, easy-to-use tool that helps you make the best possible seafood choices.” Each participating organization has its own online version of consumer seafood information. Since shoppers don’t