Articles

Review: Maine 101

Maine 101: Everything You Wanted to Ask About Maine and Were Going to Ask Anyway. By Nancy Griffin MacIntyre Purcell Publishing Inc., 2009 $252 pages, $14.95 Do you know what “jeezly” means? If you don’t, you can find out in Nancy Griffin’s Maine 101: Everything You Wanted to Ask About Maine and Were Going to

Continue reading...


A new system of fisheries management

Groundfishermen are in the midst of one of the biggest changes is fisheries management in decades. Starting May 1, a new management plan takes effect, allowing commercial fishermen to organize in “sectors,” to manage an allocation of fish. A sector is a group of fishermen and is not based on a geographical area. The new

Continue reading...


Islanders awed by wind turbines

As Gladys Hutchinson walked up the access road, past Turbine 3, she and her friend Joy Woodcock, were amazed. “It’s like you’re in another world,” she said. Hutchinson, of Vinalhaven, said she had driven past the site all summer during construction of the turbines, but today was different. “It’s like you’re seeing it for the

Continue reading...


A Maine idea that could help the nation

As Maine’s working waterfront came under increasing pressure of residential development, advocates for water-dependent industries advanced an idea. The concept was simple: use state bond money, combined with private funds, to permanently preserve waterfront land used for commercial fishing. Dozens of groups persuaded voters to approve this new concept by a margin of 66 to

Continue reading...


Newsletter gets a new look

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s newsletter has been completely redesigned for its October issue. The MLA has switched to a newspaper format, with additional features about the industry. The newsletter is also going to more people. The old, letter-sized newsletter went to about 1,000 people. The revamped newsletter has a circulation of 6,000. It will be

Continue reading...


A Maine idea that could help the nation

As Maine’s working waterfront came under increasing pressure of residential development, advocates for water-dependent industries advanced an idea. The concept was simple: use state bond money, combined with private funds, to permanently preserve waterfront land used for commercial fishing. Dozens of groups persuaded voters to approve this new concept by a margin of 66 to

Continue reading...


No agreement on action regarding lobster task force recommendations

The first page of a report on the Maine lobster industry, created for the governor’s lobster task force, talks about the tensions among different parts of the industry. “Maine’s lobster industry has significant potential to strengthen its economic sustainability and overcome current market conditions, given its uniquely beloved brand and products,” it is stated in

Continue reading...


First wind turbine tower section installed

The first tower section of Turbine 2 was installed on Tuesday, September 1 at the Fox Islands Electric Cooperative’s wind power project on Vinalhaven. Workers from Cianbro, the project’s general contractor, used a 320-foot tall crane and ropes to guide the base section onto the foundation, according to Suzanne Pude, director of the Island Institute’s Maine

Continue reading...


Signs of innovation

After the collapse of prices paid to Maine lobstermen last October, many were hoping that this summer would bring better news. It hasn’t. The boat price paid to lobstermen is the lowest it has been since 1990. The cost of fuel, bait and other supplies is considerably higher, which means that for many lobstermen, the

Continue reading...