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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 F E B R UA R Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 9 Be selective. BE SHUR. bernsteinshur.com When you need a partner who knows the law —and your industry. From the Editor T he New Yorker recently published an essay by the late Oliver Sacks that bemoans technology's greater presence in our lives. "I cannot get used to seeing myriads of people in the street peering into little boxes or holding them in front of their faces, walking blithely in the path of moving traffic, totally out of touch with their surroundings." In the workplace, we struggle with the right bal- ance between the use of technology — whether its texting, video conferencing or instant messaging — and good old face-to-face meetings. In this issue, Senior Writer Renee Cordes writes about virtual reality and how it's being used by com- panies and nonprofits in Maine. ere's the Island Institute's storytelling experiment that gives you a crustacean's view of what it's like in the lobster trap. ere are virtual reality renderings used by the architec- ture firm SMRT to show the interior of the WEX Inc. headquarters. ere's even a virtual reality scenario that helps hospice workers see what their patients are experiencing. See Page 14. Also in this issue, Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber reports on how Maine compa- nies are making the transition to the cloud, and closing the state's technology lag time. See Page 18. To get a sense of technology's impact on Maine's economy, see Page 13. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz We applaud the Island Institute for its support to help grow the aquaculture industry. Developing new markets and waterfront jobs is good for Maine. e challenge is how to build a sustainable aquaculture market that does not compete with existing industries like tourism and lobstering. Sustainable aquaculture must be good for all parties. Tourism is the largest industry in Maine and contributes to roughly $6 billion annually, with an estimated 70% spent along the coast. When consid- ering aquaculture farm sites, special attention must be given to existing public uses and the impact on shoreline residents. e lobster industry, worth over $500 million, employs over 10,000 fishermen. In considering aqua- culture farm sites, fishing grounds for commercial lobstering must be protected. Aquaculture should coexist with commercial fishing, not block lobster- men from fishing public waters. As an example, a proposed 40-acre aquaculture lease on Maquoit Bay in Brunswick has lobsterman very concerned. Many lobstermen have opposed and testified against the [oyster farm] lease before the Department of Marine Resources. e lease site is located on productive fishing waters and would unreasonably interfere with lobstering for over a dozen commercial fisherman. Together with commercial lobsterman, a group of shoreline residents came together and formed Concerned Citizens for Maquoit Bay. e group has been working hard to communicate its concerns with the Maquoit Bay lease and encourage the DMR to create more sustainable regulations — ones that that allow aquaculture to coexist alongside other indus- tries, rather than competing with them. Commercial lobsterman and CCMB support sustainable aquaculture when it's good for all parties. Tourism, lobstering and sustainable aquaculture are all part of the Maine future. Aquaculture at the expense of tourism and lobstermen is not the answer. Paul Dioli, Save Maquoit Bay To the Editor Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is our top content from the weeks between Jan. 28–Feb. 11. 1. Luxury West End condos going up for auction 2. Coffee shop opens in long-vacant downtown Augusta space 3. Cold weather doesn't keep Portland from making 'Top 10 of best places to retire' list 4. College of the Atlantic plans major expansion 5. Three-building investment signals confidence in South Portland's Knightville 6. Hotel development is booming in Portland ... but questions abound over how much is too much 7. Covetrus makes its debut on Nasdaq exchange 8. Standish was Maine's 2018 'Hottest Town' for home sales 9. Island Institute planting seeds for 10-fold increase in Maine's aquaculture industry 10. 'You have to want to find' this midcoast inn, and the buyers did P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N 1 When technology makes our world better

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