BLUE HILL — No one who lives on the coast of Maine, or reads the newspaper, underestimates the dangers fishermen face every time they go out on their boats. They can get snagged by a winch cable, struck by a piece of heavy rigging or pitched over the side. Few lobstermen who go overboard are …
Officially, the elver fishing season still has more than two weeks to run, but for most harvesters it’s already time to move on to some other occupation. By state law, Maine’s elver fishing season opens March 22 and ends June 10. By nature’s law, the season effectively closed on May 19, with fishermen having already …
BLUE HILL — No one who lives on the coast of Maine, or reads the newspaper, underestimates the dangers fishermen face every time they go out on their boats. They can get snagged by a winch cable, struck by a piece of heavy rigging or pitched over the side. Few lobstermen who go overboard are …
CASTINE — It was a good weekend for Massachusetts high school sailors at the 21st annual Downeast Invitational Regatta hosted by Maine Maritime Academy in Castine Harbor, but Maine sailors had plenty to cheer about as well. After 18 races sailed over two days, the Belmont Hill School from Belmont, Mass., placed first in the …
AUGUSTA — Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher briefed the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee on the latest news from the lobster bait and whale front and the news was not good. Speaking at a May 7 committee workshop, Keliher said that the state was under severe pressure from NOAA Fisheries to find ways to …
ELLSWORTH — Nearly 20 people were on hand at Ellworth’s Harbor Park last week to pick up brook trout from the Mic Mac Farms hatchery in Caribou that will stock home and farm ponds in 17 separate communities, nearly all in Hancock County. The pickup on Monday, May 6, was arranged through the Hancock County …
CASTINE — The 21st annual Downeast Fleet Racing Invitational Regatta, sponsored by George Stevens Academy, gets underway this weekend with a forecast of morning showers and brisk winds on Saturday, clouds on Sunday and mild weather throughout. Maine Maritime Academy hosts the event, furnishes the 420 dinghies used for racing and provides staffing and auxiliary …
CASTINE — Commencement ceremonies are always a big deal, but Maine Maritime Academy’s 76th annual commencement last Saturday featured an all-star cast. About 193 students marched at commencement, held in MMA’s Alexander Field House, including candidates for Associate of Science, Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. As usual, proud parents, grandparents, spouses and …
ELLSWORTH — Two conservation organizations have opened another front in their relicensing battle with the owners of the Ellsworth hydropower dam. At issue is how to protect the Union River ecosystem. Late last month, the Downeast Salmon Federation and the Conservation Law Foundation filed a joint request with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for …
BROOKLIN — Throughout the classic sailboat world, especially in New England, the first Saturday in August is synonymous with the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. Founders Steve White and his Brooklin Boatyard partner Frank Hunt saw the race, first sailed in 1985 with a fleet of just 13 boats, as a chance for wooden boat owners to …
AUGUSTA — Inshore lobstermen will get a break when the federal government adopts new whale protection rules, but it remains to be seen for how long. On Thursday, May 2, Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher announced on the DMR website that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will delay imposing any whale protection …
AUGUSTA — There are few things more confusing than Maine’s legislative process, but the questions of who controls Maine’s tidal flats, and who should, are near the top of the list. Last week, two bills dealing with who owns the area between the high and low tide marks, and what kinds of activities should be …
