Stephen Etnier’s “Inside Haskell’s” (1969), oil on canvas.

Working Waterfront

Stephen and David Etnier: A legacy of place

In his autobiography Overworked Guardian Angel, published posthumously in 2009, the painter Stephen Etnier (1903-1984) paid homage to the stretch of the Maine coast around South Harpswell where he lived and which he haunted for a good part of his life. This “series of coves and inlets with fingers of… SEE MORE

Boats stored and wrapped, waiting for spring. PHOTO: COURTESY CLEAN OCEAN ACCESS

Working Waterfront

The not-so-small problem of shrink wrap

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the shrink wrap is coming off. The boat shrink wrap, that is—low-density polyethylene plastic prized for its flexibility and ability to keep vessels protected from the sleet, snow, and rain of Maine winters. And most of it is going in the… SEE MORE

A photo shot in December 1973 shows a fishing boat and Coast Guard vessel in peril at the mouth of Casco Bay. PHOTO: NATIONAL FISHERMAN COLLECTION, PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

When the helper gets in trouble

There is no shortage of drama in the National Fisherman photograph shown here, taken in December 1973. The dark figure of a man looms in the foreground surveying a scene of maritime mayhem. It’s foggy and snowing, and one can almost feel the elements. A rope leads the viewer’s eye… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ocean acidification threatens blue economy

In a state renowned for its lobster and shellfish, Mainers understand the importance of a healthy ocean. But you don’t have to spend your mornings on a fishing boat hauling in the day’s catch or even live near the coast to be affected by our changing and warming seas. Ocean… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How a bill becomes law, Maine edition

The other day, I found myself in Augusta attending a legislative committee hearing and conversing about how a bill becomes a law with somebody who was at the legislature for the first time. So here is the short story: Bill ideas, or really just bill titles, need to be submitted… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘On-demand’ gear tested off Massachusetts

This spring, researchers were given an expanded opportunity to test lobster trap gear that eliminates the need for vertical buoy lines in waters traversed by critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Under the direction of NOAA and with permission from the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries, a fleet of ten… SEE MORE

New Maine Marine Patrol Officer Ben Wiant, center, with Col. Matthew Talbot, left, and Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher.

Working Waterfront

New marine patrol officer for Jonesport-Beals

Ben Wiant of Romulus, N.Y. has joined the Maine Marine Patrol as its newest officer and will serve in the Washington County communities of Harrington, Jonesport, Beals, and Addison. Wiant has completed the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s Law Enforcement Pre-Service Training Program and the Marine Patrol’s 45-day field training program.… SEE MORE

William Irvine, “The Resting Fishermen,” 2020, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches. COURTESY: COURTHOUSE GALLERY FINE ART

Working Waterfront

William Irvine’s sleeping fishermen

“Although the painting is called ‘The Resting Fishermen,’” painter William Irvine explains via email, “they are actually asleep.” A trio of barefoot simply-clad men, eyes closed, lean against each other, their backs against a small shed set on a dock strewn with lobster traps, buoys, oars, nets, and rope, with… SEE MORE

This photo from our February/March issue generated details from our readers.

Working Waterfront

A tree’s demise prompts stories

The photo we ran on page 9 in the February/March issue showed a large tree with its roots torn from the ground, leaning onto wires and another tree (and possibly a house) with a Rockland police vehicle parked nearby. We asked readers from more information, and as usual, they came… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Have you seen the Scuttlebutt?

The phrase “buyer beware” seems inappropriate for someone settling in a pretty Maine waterfront community. But maybe “buyer aware” makes some sense. After all, if that town has a working waterfront, a newcomer’s expectations may not match reality. Fishermen’s pickups driving by at 4 a.m. in summer. Diesel boat engines… SEE MORE