Cushing fisherman Danny Staples handles recently caught lobster at his private wharf in October. Staples has led a town effort to buy a nearby property and make it into the community’s first public working waterfront. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Shoring up Cushing’s working waterfront

Longtime fisherman Danny Staples has his own wharf on Pleasant Point Gut in Cushing, where he and several others can access the water, land lobster, and do some maintenance of their vessels. But that piece of waterfront didn’t help Staples this past fall, when his boat’s rudder broke as he… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bringing our stories to our followers

NAME: Emma Perry TITLE: Impact and Event Specialist FOCUS: As the Impact and Event Specialist I play a key role in reporting on the impact of Island Institute’s work and overseeing the administration of the Glenn Fund Community Impact grants and scholarships. Through this work, I ensure our funding creates… SEE MORE

Belfast’s sardine packing plant under construction in the early 20th century. PHOTO: PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

A sardine-packing plant’s 20th century history

The epicenter for the Maine sardine business at the turn of the 20th century was Downeast in Eastport and Lubec, but 50 years of heavy fishing pressure coupled with intense competition between packing companies in the area forced some of the companies to look for new opportunities down the coast.… SEE MORE

A view of Stonington Harbor, looking east. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

The serendipity of island life brings joy

I couldn’t have predicted that I’d soon be gripping the gunwale of a lobster boat, cheering and shouting alongside a lobstering family… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Remembering a friend and island helper

Bill was unusually gendered, and as a child and young adult on the island he struggled with the predictable torment—predictable at the time, but now, thankfully, fading. While his was a very difficult identity for us to quantify or for him to acknowledge and deal with when he was an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

School of rock

The band mounted the stage, confidently striding up the ramp to find their places behind the microphones and amplifiers. Earlier that afternoon they had loaded everything out of their practice space, working together as a team to make sure nothing was left behind. Their sound check was efficient, and they… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

North Haven celebrates

PHOTOS BY JACK SULLIVAN On Aug. 13, North Haven hosted its annual Community Days celebration, and the weather, visitors, and residents all cooperated to provide a memorable gathering. SEE MORE

From left: Rik Michaud, Ron Michaud (Tylar’s father), Adam Albina, Mary Albina, Liz Michaud, Jeff Maker, and Joyce Maker. PHOTO: COURTESY LIZ MICHAUD

Working Waterfront

Hope for a safer fishery

Liz Michaud has one hope for the fishermen of Maine—that they all return home to their families. Michaud is the founder of Green and White Hope, a nonprofit organization improving safety for commercial fishermen. She started the organization following the death of her nephew, Tylar Michaud, in July 2023. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bike lanes and a bumpy transition

The driver had strayed too close to the curb and caught her wheel on the sharp edge, it seemed. Not terribly surprising, as the street had recently been narrowed to make way for what’s quickly becoming the third rail of local politics in my area—bike lanes. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Reflections on divides, as island summer wanes

The birds in our front yard take turns at the two feeders—a yellow finch, a chick-a-dee, a cardinal, sometimes a blue bird. I watch the elegant dance of two whirling hummingbirds who return each day to suck the sugar water hanging off a feeder on the front porch column. We… SEE MORE