SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Before nearly a dozen sailing students headed out on the water to race in the MDI Longboard Regatta on Aug. 12, Stephen Linscott demonstrated how to ride the long skateboard they were competing to win. “The response I got was, ‘cool,’” said Linscott, creator of MDI Longboards and sponsor of the race …
“It is on private property that is in the Limited Residential Shoreland zone. Since this would change the use of that property from residential to aquaculture, I believe that would trigger Planning Board review. The Land Use Ordinance specifically prohibits aquaculture in the Limited Residential Shoreland zone, and so I anticipate that ultimately, this project will be denied.”
Jesse Gilley knows a thing or two about working on the water. But, last Friday, following a small snowfall, Gilley, 29, was behind the wheel of a snowplow, clearing a municipal parking lot. According to Gilley, assisting the town’s highway department during the colder months is listed in the harbormaster’s job description, a role he was recently appointed to by the Board of Selectmen.
Gilley’s experience working on the water includes lobster and scallop fishing, marine construction, boat mate and engineer, as well as oyster farming. Before taking the job in Southwest Harbor, Gilley was working on a scallop fishing boat out of New Bedford, Mass., going out on the water for up to two weeks at a time. “That’s pretty much what I’ve done my whole life,” he said about commercial fishing. “I got to run the boat, a 120-foot vessel.”
Acadia Aqua Farms filed a lease application with the Maine Department of Marine Resources to farm scallops on 68 acres northeast of Sunken Ledge in Frenchman Bay. The company proposes a suspended gear operation for farming scallops 4,000 feet from shore and 2,700 feet northeast of the ledge.
BAR HARBOR — An alien invader is popping up more frequently along the local coastline. Very few tunicates, the small marine animals more commonly known as sea squirts, are indigenous to the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. Yet, there have been plenty of sightings by beachcombers, fishermen, sea farmers and others whose work is …
BAR HARBOR — After waiting a month to discuss possible alternatives, members of the Zone B Lobster Management Council last week agreed to present to the state a proposal for regulations aimed at protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The Department of Marine Resources had asked the zone council and others around the state …
SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Anyone who worked in law enforcement over the last 30 years in Hancock County knew Alan Brown, who, to many, was simply called “Brownie.” Brown, who died unexpectedly last Friday at the age of 51, was hired as the Southwest Harbor police chief in 2015. “Our community is heartbroken by the loss …
ELLSWORTH — A deadline to present a state plan designed to minimize potential harm to right whales is fast approaching, but members of the Zone B Lobster Management Council have asked Department of Marine Resources officials to check some numbers before the zone council agrees to a plan. “The timeline is short,” said DMR Commissioner …
ELLSWORTH — Nearly 25 years ago, when Cathy Dionne’s son was diagnosed with autism at 15 months old, he was one in 10,000 children who would be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Today, less than three decades later, one in every 54 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, according to the …
BAR HARBOR — Lobster fishermen in Zone B voiced concerns on Jan. 15 about losing traps, among other issues, if they adhere to recently proposed whale-protection rule changes presented by the Department of Marine Resources (DMR). The changes are intended to reduce incidents of right whales becoming entangled in trap lines. More than 40 fishermen …
TREMONT — Cracked beams, eroding piles and rickety stringers are all signs that the Bernard town wharf on the western shore of inner Bass Harbor is in need of repair. With the help of a Small Harbor Improvement Project grant from the Maine Department of Transportation, the town is planning repairs to the north side …
SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Sparked by an Appeals Board decision to allow a charter fishing boat operator to continue disembarking passengers at one of the town docks, the town Harbor Committee will review the language in the town’s Coastal Waters and Harbor Ordinance over the winter. John Dittmar owns Acadia Fishing Tours. Passengers board his boat, …
