Articles
Seascapes: Getting to Know the Sea Around Us and Muscongus Bay Atlas 2008
Two new publications, appearing first online, detail every aspect of the coastal, marine areas of Muscongus Bay. Besides the specific information about one bay area, the two guides offer an outline for people in other estuaries, communities and organizations to do the same. Both guides were produced under the auspices of the Quebec-Labrador Foundation/Atlantic Center
Down East Lobstermen’s Association prepares for harder times
Lobstermen all along the coast are worried about the possibility of this year’s lobster harvest dipping below last year’s, which was the fourth year of a slide from the peak, prompting fears the trend would continue. That worry is why downeast lobstermen are putting their traps in later this year, and why many curtailed their
Maine-made computers have marine applications
The NAVROC computer – an affordable, water-resistant computer designed and entirely assembled in Midcoast Maine – is practically a family affair.Designer and engineer Jacob Post, 32, and business owner Carolyn Philbrook of Rockbound Computers have known each other since he was a kid in Owls Head, one road over from her house and attending school
Linda Bean expands her lobster holdings
Linda L. Bean recently purchased the Carver’s Harbor, Vinalhaven, lobster wharf and buying station formerly owned by Shafmaster of New Hampshire, doing business as Little Bay Lobster Co. Bean, a member of the Freeport retailing family, also purchased the lobsters from a “floating” buying station owned by Peter Jones, who will run the combined facility.
Faced with challenges, lobstermen call for U.S.-Canadian combined effort
At the end of the fifth annual Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen’s Town Meeting, harvesters from both countries took an unprecedented step, voting to try a combined promotional effort for lobster. Generic promotion of lobster is a distinct departure from the trend to “brand” products from a specific place such as Maine or Alaska to cash in on
Fishing Smarter
Monhegan Island lobstermen are nearing the end of their first season under new rules. They are fishing a longer season with fewer traps per person, and so far, they’re having surprising success catching as many or more lobsters. “We are now fishing 300 traps apiece,” said Doug Boynton, who has been fishing off Monhegan for
Selling the Catch, Keeping the Money
n days of dwindling stocks and dwindling access to stocks, fishermen should be thinking of marketing their product directly to consumers to get the greatest value for their catch. A large variety of experts at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum offered a wide range of marketing ideas during a Feb. 28 panel entitled “More Bang for
New Things
The coast of Maine figures prominently in the imaginations of many desk-bound, traffic-trapped city dwellers, which is probably why products from Maine carry such cachet. The appeal of Maine’s food products is obvious: the state’s seafood, blueberries, potatoes and the value-added products made from them taste good. Lobster is a luxury item prized around the
A merchant mariner touts a new training program for Maine’s Midcoast
David Flanagan of Thomaston works as a captain of large oceangoing vessels that perform a variety of tasks for the Military Sealift Command. Currently he’s towing decommissioned ships into lay-up. His last trip found him in Hawaii, around Pearl Harbor, but in his job — chief mate or captain — he can expect to be
In Danger at Sea; Adventures of a New England Fishing Family
Camden, Maine: Down East Books, 2007 320 pages, $22.95 Dry Feet, the Great White Shark and Three-Freeze Cider Capt. Samuel S. Cottle started his life in 1931, near Point Judith, Rhode Island, the third generation of a fishing family that included the grandfather who named various parts of the surrounding coast — including Galilee and