Fishermen return to the dock in Belfast after catching menhaden, also known as pogies. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Small fish, big role

In 2021, Maine’s commercial harvesters landed 22.1 million pounds valued at $9.5 million (Maine Department of Marine Resources data). SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Loving beets… or not

One of the best modern ways I’ve discovered for serving beets is to boil them, cut them into thick slices, and then drench them in butter into which you crumble lots of blue cheese. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sweat, tears, the sea (and rain)

The name of my column, Salt Water Cure, comes from an Isak Dinesen (real name, Karen Blixen) quote: “The cure for anything is saltwater—sweat, tears, or the sea.” I am stuck in a bit of an eddy of medical tests and waiting. Hopefully it will all be fine, but so… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Letter to the editor: ‘Protect the intertidal’

Protect the intertidal To the editor: In an opinion piece in The Working Waterfront July issue, Richard Qualey argues that the Maine intertidal zone between high and low tide should be universally accessible to the public. The current state of the law (and since 1647) is that the intertidal is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Looking backward, moving ahead

I’m just back from an hour’s row on a day that I think may be the first of summer. Clearly I’m hedging here, having experienced the spring, which started and stopped too many times to count. But it’s June 1, the sky’s clear and the sun’s out, the wind’s not… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Valuing education for the tourism economy

Collaboration, creative problem solving, and caring leadership—all are taught within the University of Southern Maine’s Tourism & Hospitality program as part of a student’s education in sustainable tourism management. And with good reason. The Bachelor of Arts in Tourism & Hospitality Management at USM is unique in that thinking about… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Born to be centerfield

It was one of those warm, early spring days, the kind that makes you glad to be alive. I was 12, and it was the first day of Little League practice. The song wouldn’t be written for another 14 years, but the sentiment in the chorus of John Fogerty’s “Centerfield”—“I'm… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Throughlines that connect us to community

When I first stepped into the role as president of Island Institute just 15 months ago, I reflected on the weight of responsibility that had been passed and the unimaginable changes that had shaped our part of the world over the past 40 years. This was even before the back-to-back,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Without a map, new turf becomes clearer

The trail is long, and my position is regional, which means that I work with many communities throughout Hancock and Washington counties. But I find that this place—this earth, these streams, these blueberry fields, and these fir trees—make it all feel like home. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islanders pull off delightful ‘Mathilda’

Over the years I've reviewed books and plays and while I’ve certainly liked some more than others, I have always enjoyed the process. Last week I watched a rendition of Roahl Dahl’s Matilda at Waterman’s Community Center in North Haven. Dahl passed away 34 years before what would seem fair,… SEE MORE