Air quality, marine engines at risk from gasoline mixture change April 24, 2018 by Stephen Rappaport on Environment, News, Waterfront ELLSWORTH — The spring boating season is creeping closer in the Northeast, and with its approach comes the news that E15 gasoline could soon be available at gas pumps year-round. The fuel is a blend that includes petroleum products and 15 percent ethanol, a biofuel produced primarily from corn. Early this month, President Donald Trump …
Trojans’ early momentum stalls at O’Day qualifier April 24, 2018 by Stephen Rappaport on News, Waterfront PORTLAND — The Mount Desert Island High School sailing team got the weekend off to a terrific start on Saturday. The Trojans’ A-division boat won the first race of the day at the Saturday qualifier for the annual New England Schools Sailing Association’s Fleet Racing Championship, the O’Day Trophy regatta, but it was all downhill …
Fares, reservation fees going up on ferries April 24, 2018 by Dick Broom on News, Waterfront SWAN’S ISLAND — The announcement last week by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) of a new fare structure for the Maine State Ferry Service as of May 26 did not mention a change that will negatively affect more than a few residents here and on Frenchboro. The price of reserving a space for a …
Dead whale found in Downeast cove April 23, 2018 by Stephen Rappaport on News, Waterfront LUBEC — The carcass of a young humpback whale stranded in Boot Cove, southwest of Quoddy Narrows, was discovered this week but, as yet, scientists don’t know how, when or where the whale died. On Friday, Allied Whale Research Associate and Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator Rosemary Seton said the whale was a young female, probably …
2018 lobster boat race calendar is released April 21, 2018 by Stephen Rappaport on News, Waterfront ELLSWORTH — Hold on to your hats. Icy weather notwithstanding, the release last week of the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association calendar poster is an absolute sign that summer is just around the corner. The poster features a striking photo of big, diesel-powered boats thundering up Moosabec Reach during last year’s Jonesport/Beals Island Lobster Boat …
Land-based farmed salmon are still a ways from the dinner table April 19, 2018 by Stephen Rappaport on News, Waterfront BUCKSPORT — Earlier this year, the Portland-based company Whole Oceans announced plans to build a $250-million facility to grow Atlantic salmon in land-based tanks on the site of the former Verso paper mill in Bucksport. The company lists both Billund Aquaculture, based in Billund, Denmark, and the Freshwater Institute, located in Shepherdstown, W.Va., as partners …
DMR to hold research priority meetings April 18, 2018 by Staff on News, Waterfront AUGUSTA — The Department of Marine Resources Bureau of Marine Sciences will host a series of research prioritization meetings for scallops, sea urchins, river herring, eel, halibut and Atlantic herring. The meetings will help DMR establish research priorities that will increase the understanding of each species’ ecology and assessment and will contribute to sound management …
Elver season is over for some April 17, 2018 by Stephen Rappaport on News, Waterfront ELLSWORTH — The Maine elver fishing season runs from March 22 to June 7 each year, but not for everybody. The elver harvest is limited by an overall annual quota allocated among state-licensed harvesters and Maine’s four federally recognized Indian tribes, including the Passamaquoddy. On Sunday, the Department of Marine Resources announced that the elver …
Shellfish closure is a matter of caution April 16, 2018 by Stephen Rappaport on News, Waterfront DEER ISLE — Last Thursday, the Department of Marine Resources imposed a ban on harvesting shellfish from an aquaculture lease site off Deer Isle. On Friday, Kohl Kanwit, Director of DMR’s Bureau of Public Health, explained that the harvest closure was a precautionary measure in response to a common practice in shellfish farming. The department …
Dam owners submit application for water quality certification April 13, 2018 by Kate Cough on News, Waterfront ELLSWORTH — Brookfield Renewable, the owner of the Ellsworth Hydroelectric Project, submitted an application for water quality certification to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection on April 9, the deadline for submittal. The application is the next step in a relicensing process that has been under way since 2015. The issuing body, the Federal Energy …
