The Working Waterfront newspaper reports on the people and forces that shape Maine’s coastal and island communities. As publisher, Island Institute’s premise is that the cultural, environmental, and community assets here are rare and valuable, and are worth fighting for.
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February 20

It's time for an honest conversation about aquaculture

Opposition may not be authentic, or reality based
In the last few years we have watched the promise of an innovative and dynamic seafood industry be picked apart by groups flying a false flag of environmentalism or “fishing heritage.”
BY BENJAMIN FORD
February 19

Cape Cod fishing boats add water sensors

Real-time data will help regulators and fishermen
Within the next year, some 150 Cape Cod fishing boats will be equipped with sensors to collect vital information about ocean temperatures and water oxygen levels off the northeast coast…
BY CRAIG IDLEBROOK
February 19

Writing prompts personal revelations

Collection of Maine-based essays a pleasing read
It's impossible to not be moved by someone opening up this way, and the only way it can fail is when it is overwrought, pretentious, or over-written. There are a few pieces that slide into these sins, but the bulk are honest in their aim.
REVIEW BY TOM GROENING
The Pinky schooner Glad Tidings.
February 19

Fishing photos: ‘What’s going on here?’

Book explains fishing history through National Fisherman photographs
Crowley has chosen dozens and dozens of images from the museum’s collection and explains what is being depicted. In 2012, Diversified Communications, publisher of National Fisherman, donated its thousands of pre-digital (that is, film) photo archives to the museum.
BY TOM GROENING
Harvested rockweed at a boat launch in Hancock. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING
February 14

A life in seaweed, seen from inside

Gouldsboro Bay harvester shares business realities
For the past 50 years, I have harvested seaweeds for food, medicine, and fertilizer, working within a five-mile radius of a home cove on Gouldsboro Bay where I keep my…
BY LARCH HANSON
Pauline Inman's “Fisherman’s Boots,” 1943, wood engraving, edition eight of 40. COURTESY TIDES INSTITUTE AND MUSEUM OF ART, EASTPORT
February 11

Pauline Inman engraves Downeast shore

Elements of waterfront rendered, powerfully, in line
[caption id="attachment_46124" align="alignnone" width="650"] Pauline Inman, Abandoned Quarry, ca. 1956, wood engraving. COURTESY TIDES INSTITUTE AND MUSEUM OF ART, EASTPORT.[/caption] When we think of Maine’s working waterfront, images of lobsterboats,…
BY CARL LITTLE
February 11

Celebrating a successful community-owned fiber network

Name: Christa Thorpe Title: Senior community development officer in Island Institute’s Center for Sustainable Communities Focus: I co-lead Island Institute’s Future of Fishing initiative that aims to build resilience by…
STAFF
Dave Brayton prepares to harpoon a swordfish on the Georges Bank. PHOTO: PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM
February 11

Capturing the kill

Photographer went the distance
He used a polarizing filter to help lessen the glare on the surface so the swordfish could be clearly seen; those preparations, coupled with some savvy darkroom work, produced the cover shot.
BY KEVIN JOHNSON
Central Wharf in Portland. FILE PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN
February 11

Portland’s ‘Big Dig’ gets underway, finally

Long-awaited harbor dredging project begins
Work has begun on a long-awaited project to remove hundreds of millions of pounds of contaminated muck from around wharves, marinas, boatyards, and public boat launches in Portland Harbor. For…
BY CLARKE CANFIELD
A boat arrives at the Monhegan pier. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING
February 11

Building higher on Monhegan

Options considered for rebuilding pier
Facing the community now is the decision of how to move forward—forward toward a response to the increasingly powerful winter storms and the growing summer traffic. The main thing I am considering is how the changes will last for generations and affect the function of the island in every season.
BY THOMAS McCLELLAN

Island Postcards

EPISODE 10: Keep the Light Shining

Two ambitious young women swam around the entire Island of Isle au Haut during the summer of 2019 to raise money for crucial renovations to the lighthouse.

WATCH ALL ISLAND POSTCARDS

 

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