Working Waterfront

Will innovation save lobstering?

The concept of innovation tends to inspire images of bio-geneticists tinkering with DNA to create cancer-resistant cells. But sometimes, innovation comes in decidedly low-tech form. I attended the every-other-year Beaches Conference in June, and one of the presenters showed slides of how the town of York dealt with perennial ocean… SEE MORE

Bait bins sit on a pier in Cutler. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Report: Lobster remains a responsibly harvested species

The harvesting of lobster in Maine and beyond “continue[s] to meet the criteria of our Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested program,” the Portland-based nonprofit Gulf of Maine Research Institute asserts in a report issued in September. The report aims for a science-based approach in analyzing the clash between federal protection… SEE MORE

A worker at the Portland Fish Exchange sorts fish. PHOTO: MICHELE STAPLETON

Working Waterfront

Fishing for a solution

Scores of hard-plastic crates filled with ice-covered fresh fish sit on the floor of the Portland Fish Exchange, ready for inspection before the bounty is auctioned in lots to the highest bidders. The fish comes from eight boats that brought their catches of cod, haddock, monkfish, grey sole, and other… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The perils of love and lobstering

Maiden Cove: A Novel By Roy Knight (2020) Review by Dana Wilde Roy Knight grew up just about a stone’s throw from Maiden Cove, right on the channel into Portland Harbor between Cape Elizabeth and Cushing Island. As a teenager in the mid-1960s, he learned lobstering in that channel from… SEE MORE

An aerial view of the light. PHOTO: COURTESY SUSAN GRACE

Working Waterfront

Swan’s Island light celebrates restoration anniversary

[caption id="attachment_32902" align="alignleft" width="500"] The tower shrouded with the required scaffolding.[/caption] In January 1857, Benjamin Stinson and 83 citizens of Swan’s Island and Deer Island petitioned Congress for an appropriation for a lighthouse. Some of the family names in that petition—Joyce, Staples, Sprague, Stockbridge—are still found on Swan’s Island… SEE MORE

View of Portland from the observatory. PHOTO: MICHELE STAPLETON

Working Waterfront

Portland goes ‘referendum crazy’

Portland voters will cast ballots this fall on a slew of referendum questions that include proposals to reduce the number of short-term rentals, prohibit large cruise ships from coming to port, and increase the city’s minimum wage. These are some of the very same issues that many coastal and island… SEE MORE

Phil Crossman sits at the piano at Waterman's Community Center on North Haven as Gov. Janet Mills, vacationing on the island, sings.

Working Waterfront

My singing partner, Janet Mills

Gov. Janet Mills can sing. I don’t mean to imply that simply because she can sing, she should be re-elected and neither do I mean to suggest that the ability to carry a tune be a prerequisite for holding office. However, she can sing, does so enthusiastically and I have… SEE MORE

A photograph composed and made by Carroll Thayer Berry shows a soon-to-vanish method of herring harvesting. PHOTO: PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Harvesting the ‘fish that feeds all’

In this month’s image, Harlan Hurd sits in his dory wearing a ball cap and a heavy flannel jacket which is covered in fish scales. His son, Karl, stands at the other end of the dory wearing a jeff cap and an apron over his own flannel coat. They watch… SEE MORE

Eastport celebrates the Fourth of July in 2018.

Working Waterfront

Eastport, Lubec banking on the arts

At the end of June, I was lucky enough to visit Eastport and Lubec. I’ve been meaning to return since my first visit in 1996. Remembering hidden artist studios, downtown galleries, and a dynamic working waterfront drew me to plan a trip. As director of Archipelago, the Island Institute’s Rockland… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sorting out the meaning of summer

It’s the middle of summer on Islesford and while COVID is not yet off our radar, the month of July has been bursting with activity. This hectic pace throws me off balance but there is something reassuring about how normal the discomfort feels. The islands are once again full of… SEE MORE