Lobstermen protest seabed survey for offshore wind turbines
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Maine lobstermen say a seabed survey to determine suitability for a 23-mile underwater cable is disrupting their operations by cutting lines and disturbing buoys. More than 80 lobster boats lined up between Monhegan Island and Boothbay Harbor on Sunday to protest the survey that’s needed to get energy produced by wind turbines to the mainland. Earlier this month, three vessels began surveying the seabed. Lobsterman Dustin Delano said fishermen “are not in favor of industrializing the Gulf of Maine with wind turbines.”
Airport closed 2 hours for suspicious package, police say
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Police say a suspicious package that disrupted six flights at the Portland International Jetport contained camera equipment. Police were alerted to a bag suspected of containing an explosive and the airport building was evacuated Sunday. All told, the airport was closed for two hours and flights were either diverted or delayed. Police say no charges were filed and airport operations have since returned to normal.
Maine: Artists hurt by pandemic get help; daily cases rise
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A pair of new grant programs in Maine is designed to help artists who are struggling economically due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Maine Arts Commission says it made $127,000 available for artists and cultural organizations via the programs. One is slated to help individual artists while the other is for organizations. Arts and culture venues were among the first to close when the pandemic upended the worldwide economy. Also Monday, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the daily average number of new cases of coronavirus continues to rise.
Maine’s baby eel fishermen head back to rivers and streams
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s baby eel fishermen are heading to the state’s rivers and streams in the hopes of a more profitable season this year. Baby eels, called elvers, are one of the most valuable natural resources in Maine. They’re sold to Asian aquaculture companies for use as seedstock so they can be grown to maturity and used as food, such as sushi. The season started Monday. Fishermen began last year’s season at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted the worldwide economy. Prices plummeted from more than $2,000 per pound in 2019 to $525 per pound last year.