Business & Development

A spanking new white fiberglass research boat was berthed at the Eastport breakwater's inner basin during the week of February 25. The Tidewater was awaiting departure for the last leg of its voyage to its new owner, the William and Mary College Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

The former Louisiana-Pacific OSB mill in Baileyville has been redeveloped into a high-capacity natural gas fueling complex that will be serving Maine industries and businesses from paper mills to food processing plants and hospitals and helping them save significantly on fuel costs.

The Eastport Port Authority expects to continue on its recent upward trajectory, with a 2013 budget that will be nearly double the port authority's revenue in 2006.

"We're still getting our footing," says Victor Trafford who, together with his wife Judy, owns Lubec's Wharf Direct seafood buying operation. Wharf Direct currently purchases lobsters, periwinkles and crabs from local fishermen and also serves as an offloading point for sea cucumbers and scallops.

The commercial property in Eastport located at the corner of Old County Road and Route 190 where the former Irving gas station and convenience store was located has been sold to Stillridge LLC of Hermon.

The management of Maine's inshore scallop fishery may change significantly this year, as the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is proposing a new rotational closure strategy along the coast to help rebuild the fishery.