Funding disputes
Maine has been caught in the crosshairs of federal cost-cutting efforts. Attendees at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in March, for example, were shocked to learn that the Trump administration had cancelled $4.5 million in funding for Maine Sea Grant. Founded in 1971, the federal-state partnership program overseen by the University of Maine is funded by NOAA, and local entities, including UMaine and the state government. Maine Sea Grant runs business development, research, and marine science education and outreach, and estimates that its work results in $23.5 million in annual economic impact for Maine’s fisheries.
Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins later announced that the Trump administration had agreed to let the program re-apply for the funds. But it was unclear when the money would be restored.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, issued a statement contending that the Trump administration decided to defund Maine Sea Grant as retaliation, noting that there did not appear to be any similar cuts at other Sea Grant programs. While they said they were pleased the administration had reconsidered, they argued Maine Sea Grant should not have to reapply for “funding that was improperly taken away from them in the first place.”
Federal cuts for community improvement projects, meanwhile, forced the town of Friendship to put on hold plans to rebuild the town wharf, which was damaged by storms more than a year ago. The town had sought $950,000 to replace the municipal wharf and repair the abutment. The news of the federal cuts came just days after voters approved local financing that would have been the town’s share of the project.
In other related federal funding news, an article by the Associated Press noted that money for lower-carbon emission systems on the waterfront has been frozen or become unavailable due to budget cuts. The changes are designed to replace old diesel-burning engines and outdated at-sea cooling systems and are touted by environmentalists as a way to reduce seafood’s carbon footprint. Salmon harvesters in Washington state, scallop distributors in Maine, and halibut fishermen in Alaska were among those who told The AP their federal commitments for projects like new boat engines and refrigeration systems have been rescinded or are under review.
New Maine Boat & Home Show Manager Kate Holden
Photo courtesy Sunset Ridge PhotographyMarine industry marketing and communications veteran Kate Holden has been named Show Manager for the 2025 Maine Boat & Home Show, which returns to Rockland on August 8 to 10.
Holden brings more than 25 years of experience working for a range of companies, including a 13-year stint on the executive management team for IBEX, an international trade event, where she oversaw the company’s overall brand development, marketing, analytics, and reporting.
The boat show, a production of Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine, celebrates life on the coast.
“We’re excited that Kate’s joining our team,” said Ted Ruegg, owner and publisher of MBH&H. “She brings the skills and energy needed to put on a topnotch event, and her deep connections to Maine’s waterfront industries will be vital in helping us attract a diverse range of exhibitors to the state’s only in-water boat show and expo of coastal lifestyle companies.”
Holden grew up in Brooklin, Maine. She earned degrees from the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine, and began her professional career at WoodenBoat Publications, where she worked in circulation, advertising sales, marketing, and show management. A Portland resident, Holden serves on the American Boat and Yacht Council’s Board of Directors.
Held annually on the Rockland waterfront, the Maine Boat & Home Show showcases new and used boats, marine gear, fine arts, jewelry, furniture, crafts, food, and family fun.
For attendee and exhibitor information, contact Holden at 207-632-7369, via showmanager@maineboats.com or visit maineboats.com/boatshow.
Storm recovery grants
Maine recently awarded $2 million in grants to 40 Maine businesses and nonprofits to support their recovery from the devastating storms of winter, 2024.
The grants were the second and final round of the Business Recovery and Resilience Fund, established as part of the $60 million storm relief package approved by the Legislature last year. The state previously awarded approximately $8 million to 109 businesses and nonprofits. That’s in addition to $21.2 million in grants to help rebuild 68 working waterfronts and $25.2 million in grants to help 39 communities build more resilient infrastructure.
“The storms of last winter remain a stark reminder of the vulnerability of our people, businesses, and communities have to serious flooding, storm surge, heavy winds, and lashing rains,” said Governor Janet Mills, in a news release. “Recovering from the damage takes time, and I’m grateful to the Legislature for their support of the historic $60 million storm relief package enacted last year, which is continuing to help Maine businesses rebuild and be ready for the weather challenges of the future.”
Hinckley 41. Photo courtesy Hinckley Yachts
Meet the newest Hinckley
The folks at Hinckley have introduced the new Hinckley 41. Propelled by triple Mercury Verado V10 outboards, it can reach speeds of nearly 60 mph. From its forward seating to its spacious swim platform and innovative storage solutions, the new model is designed to enhance life on the water.
Electric lobstering
Construction will start soon on what will become the first Canadian-built lobster fishing boat to be powered entirely by electricity, according to a report by the Canadian news site Electric Autonomy and a lengthy article in National Fisherman. The Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, along with three Canadian partners, has been developing the zero-emission vessel since 2023.
“An electric lobster vessel is the natural next step in our drive toward becoming leaders in the production and use of renewable electricity,” according to Terry Paul, chief and CEO of Membertou.
The new vessel will be named Lektrike’l Walipotl, which means “electric boat” in Mi’kmaw.
Membertou partnered with Allswater, ship designers in Bedford, Nova Scotia; Halifax-based vessel-to-grid company, BlueGrid Energy; and the non-profit Oceans North Conservation Society in Ottawa to develop the vessel, according to reports. The goal is to electrify the province’s entire fishing fleet, according to a report from Oceans North.
The boat will have bi-directional charging capabilities developed by BlueGrid, which means that when it isn’t in use, power stored in the batteries can be fed into the grid.
Lektrike’l Walipotl is expected to begin testing and prepare for deployment this year.
Lobster profits up, landings down
Maine’s commercial harvesters earned $74 million more in 2024 than in 2023, with landings valued at $709.5 million, according to preliminary data released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The increase was largely driven by a $46 million jump in prices paid to lobstermen at the dock, for a total take of $528.4 million on the strength of a $6.14 per pound price. But in a troubling sign for the future, the actual lobster catch declined by more than 10 million pounds to 86 million, hitting a 15-year low. Lobster catches peaked in 2016 at 132.6 million, according to DMR. The number of licensed fishermen and traps set also decreased in 2024, according to the preliminary data.
Maine’s softshell clam fishery was the state’s second most valuable in 2024 at $15.5 million, with harvesters earning $58,971 more than in 2023.
Maine oysters were once again in high demand in 2024, earning growers and harvesters $14.9 million on the strength of an 11-cent price per pound increase for harvesters, which placed the fishery as Maine’s third most valuable.
In fourth place was menhaden, a favorite bait of lobstermen, which earned Maine fishermen $13.2 million at the dock. Maine elver harvesters earned $12.2 million, ranking it Maine’s fifth most valuable as a result of a $1,239 per pound price paid to fishermen.
Cangarda goes to Turkey
The last American steam yacht has left the country. The classic 1901 steam-powered yacht Cangarda was loaded onto a transport ship at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast last fall for a transatlantic crossing to Turkey after Turkish businessman Rahmi Koc bought her to display in his Rahmi M. Koc Museum in Istanbul. Built at the Pusey and Jones Shipyard in Delaware, the 136-foot vessel primarily served as a private yacht, although during World War II it was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy for war use. Stuck in the mud in Boston Harbor in the late 1990s, the boat was restored for Robert McNeil, an Islesboro summer resident who stored her at Front Street. Cangarda was a frequent sight around Penobscot Bay in recent years, and at classic yacht regattas where she served as a tender.
Women in the water
More than 1,500 women joined hands and walked into the icy cold water in South Portland to celebrate International Women’s Day last March in what organizers said was the coldest and largest women’s day dip in the United States. The long line of hand-holding women stretched the length of sandy Willards Beach as they entered what one participant described as 37-degree water together with screeches and laughter. It was the fifth such women’s day dip organized by Two Maine Mermaids, regular water dippers who call themselves Ebb and Flow and run a web page devoted to cold water experiences.
Marinas bought and sold
Two Maine marinas, Safe Harbor Rockland, the former Yachting Solutions Yacht Basin, and Safe Harbor Great Island in Harpswell, were among those sold last winter by Safe Harbor holdings. The investment firm Blackstone Infrastructure acquired all of Safe Harbor’s 138 marinas across the United States and Puerto Rico for $5.65 billion. The Dallas-based Safe Harbor was acquired in 2020 by Sun Communities for $2.11 billion.
Boston Marine Services, an affiliate of Ocean Havens, has acquired Boston Boatworks, which had filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
Ocean Havens operates marinas in Boston and Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine, including the Fore Points Marina.
Meanwhile, Hinckley Yachts has added to its holdings with the acquisition of Bay Bridge Marina on Kent Island in Stevensville, Maryland. Full-service Bay Bridge Marina spans approximately 15 acres, with 243 floating slips for boats from 30 to 130 feet.
Lost through the ice
Who do you call when things sink through lake ice? Folks in Maine this winter called Greg Canders, of Bangor, according to an article in the Bangor Daily News. This winter found Canders hauling a U-Haul out of a lake, finding a pair of Bucksport-area dogs that fell through river ice, and floating a snowmobile up through 180 feet of water—all while recovering from a broken arm, the newspaper reported. Canders started diving in 1970 when he was 16 and took up ice diving about a decade later, according to the BDN. He’s recovered outdoor vehicles as large as a full-sized John Deere skidder and snow grooming equipment used for trails.
Whatever does fall into the water, Canders told the BDN, he is willing to find it. “I’ve had a lot of great experiences, seen a lot of great places and met a lot of great people” through diving, he said.
Sea-run fish in the news
Efforts to restore passages for sea-run fish species on five Maine water bodies have provided several Maine towns with the opportunity to have a commercial river herring harvest. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has approved commercial fishing opportunities for alewife and blueback herring on Sewall Pond, Wight Pond, the Pennamaquan River, Chemo Pond, and Pushaw Lake, according to a news release.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to restore fish passages at the Mill Brook Dam in Searsport, Pitcher Pond Dam in Lincolnville, and Chickawaukie Pond Outlet in Rockland. The Penobscot Indian Nation, in collaboration with state, federal, and local partners, is leading the collaborative project to address long-standing barriers that have severely impacted native fish populations, according to a news release from the Penobscot Nation. Currently, there is no effective passage at the three sites.
The initiative aims to assess structural and environmental conditions, explore engineering solutions, and implement actions to allow fish to reach historic spawning areas.
And moving on to bigger fish: 300 mature Atlantic salmon were released this year into the upper reaches of the East Branch of the Penobscot River, as part of a three-year effort to restore populations of this critically endangered species. “The East Branch of the Penobscot has lots of high-quality habitat for Atlantic salmon, but mortality in both the marine and freshwater environments prevents many from reaching it,” said Department of Marine Resources Scientist and project lead Danielle Frechette. “One of the best ways to help Atlantic salmon move towards recovery is to have more adults spawning in this high quality, but largely vacant habitat.”
It is estimated that 100,000 Atlantic salmon once made the annual spawning migration back to the Penobscot River. However, dams, log drives, pollution, and overfishing combined to bring Atlantic salmon to the brink of extinction. Poor survival in the ocean has made the problem worse. The salmon released into the Penobscot were raised in a collaborative effort involving federal, state, and Native American agencies, as well as the University of Maine and Cooke Aquaculture USA.
Biologists will track the released salmon as they spawn and make their way out to the ocean, using a combination of canoe surveys to look for redds, which are nests where salmon deposit eggs, and acoustic telemetry to track tagged salmon.
Ferry bids too high
Plans for a new hybrid ferry to replace the Margaret Chase Smith, which runs between Lincolnville and Islesboro, were set back this winter when the bids came in way above budget. Maine State Ferry Service Director William Geary sent a note about the issue to members of the service’s advisory board last winter, according to the Bangor Daily News.
“The two bids received were millions more than funding available and we will not be awarding a contract based on these bids,” he said.
The Maine Department of Transportation had secured a $28 million grant to cover 80 percent of the cost of the new boat, but the bids that came in were in excess of $41 million, according to the news report. “MaineDOT will be evaluating next steps over the next weeks and months, including monitoring the status of existing and future grant funding and programs at the federal level,” Geary wrote.
Bottom wrap with potential
Finsulate USA, a Maine-based, woman-owned business, has launched a new product designed to protect vessels while safeguarding marine ecosystems, according to the Maine Technology Institute, which has been working with the company.
Finsulate Wrap uses a biomimetic solution inspired by sea urchins to create a microscopic fiber structure that naturally prevents marine growth without the chemicals usually found in anti-fouling paint. Expanding beyond anti-fouling solutions, the company has developed a marine product line that includes HyG Motors’ electric thrusters and the ShipCare Pro Bio Fouling Management System, creating an ecosystem of clean boating technologies, according to MTI.
The company’s impact extends beyond environmental benefits. Boat owners who choose Finsulate Wrap enjoy significant time and cost savings by eliminating the annual cycle of sanding, scraping, and repainting. With a single application lasting five or more years, the solution quickly becomes economically advantageous while contributing to cleaner waterways, according to MTI.
People in the news
Boatbuilder Lyman-Morse has made three strategic additions to its leadership team, according to a news release.
To manage its growing marine business, Lyman-Morse has established a new Marine Group, encompassing boatbuilding, yacht services, work boats, brokerage, and marina businesses in Camden and Thomaston. Ron Lone has been appointed vice president of Marine Operations to lead these initiatives. Lone most recently worked as COO of a private investment company specializing in private aviation, airport services, and fuel recycling and refining. Before that, he had a 25-year career as a partner in a business law firm.
Pete Orne joins Lyman-Morse as chief financial officer. His over 30 years’ experience in finance range from working as a derivatives and stock specialist on the American Stock Exchange, as contract CFO for Swans Island Blankets, conducting business assessments for the Maine Venture Fund, and most recently as CFO/COO for 2 local school systems. Additionally, Orne owned Aegis Bicycles, a carbon fiber bicycle manufacturer.
Mark Higgins will serve as general manager of Lyman-Morse’s Camden Operations. A Maine Maritime Academy graduate with a degree in Marine Engineering Technology, Higgins has held leadership roles at General Dynamics, American Overseas Marine, Edison Chouest Offshore, Tidewater Marine International, and the Maine State Ferry Service. Most recently, he was chief operating officer of the Steamship Authority.
In Castine, the Maine Maritime Academy Board of Trustees has selected Craig Johnson, an MMA graduate, Class of 1991, as its new president.
Johnson has served as the Academy’s chief operating officer since August 2022, and interim president since June 2024. His background includes three decades of maritime industry work for companies such Seacor Holdings and XL North, and he was a founding partner in Flagship Management, an international maritime search and consulting firm. Craig held a USCG First Assistant Engineer and Third Assistant Engineer license.
Did the Vikings come to Maine?
A collection of sites in Lubec previously identified as having a possible connection to Norse settlements is raising interest from anthropologists. While evidence continues to be circumstantial, those who visit the sites agree they are worthy of further exploration for the clues they may offer to early Norse, Acadian, or Wabanaki settlements, according to an article in the Quoddy Tides.
Finding Norse ruins in North America—aside from the famed L’anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland—would be a significant discovery. For decades, amateur archaeologists and artifact hunters in the state have been looking for concrete evidence that the Norse came to Maine during the time of the Greenland colony between 985 and 1300 A.D., but findings have consistently been discredited, according to the news article. Despite visits from several knowledgeable experts in their field, the Lubec ruins remain unexplored by a dedicated research team, the newspaper story noted.
✮
