Colleen Haskell, DEI's education director, poses with Hannah Greene. PHOTO: LESLIE BOWMAN

Working Waterfront

Teacher turns the tables on herself

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Over the past few months I’ve collected stories from students, past and present, who participated in Downeast Institute’s education program.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Teen climate activist wins White House recognition

For Sirohi Kumar, a senior at Mount Desert Island High School, seemingly overwhelming challenges become less daunting once identified. “Once you know that a problem exists, then you can start crafting solutions,” she says. Her words—and work—on climate and racial justice activism have gained attention at the national level. Kumar… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Offshore oil drilling—it could happen here

I’ve had the privilege of serving churches along the Southern Maine coast for over 30 years. During these years, I’ve also had the privilege of traveling to many parts of the country and the world beyond, often leading groups on pilgrimage or mission trips. I’ve encountered compassionate, wise, and just… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Chasing resilience

Resilience is one of those buzz words that seems to be everywhere these days. It is the new version of sustainable, but with even less of a clear definition, therefore making it infinitely harder to measure. A while back someone described it as not attaining resilience, but continually striving for… SEE MORE

A lobster boat unloads in Corea Harbor. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Lobster’s claw-hold on Maine is strong

How important is the lobster fishery to the Maine coast? What will be the economic impact of a reduction in the harvest from regulations or a changing Gulf of Maine? How is lobstering integrated into the state’s identity? One number suggests answers: $1 billion dollars. That’s the amount generated each… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Beaches conference: Future, past collide

More than 400 years after the Plymouth colony was established, historians are still unraveling what the New England coast looked like, before and after. One fresh understanding of that history, which came from examining the colonial impact on New Hampshire’s Great Bay, shed light on the region’s ecosystems today. The… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘On-demand’ lobster gear permitted

A Massachusetts group aiming to help develop lobster traps that eliminate standing buoy lines recently received a split decision about whether the trap technology could be tested in waters closed to fishing as a protection for endangered North Atlantic right whales. On April 1, Pioneers for a Thoughtful Coexistence was… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine—as it should be, as it is

On a recent rainy day, I was able to indulge two interests—history and journalism. I was researching 1980s history for a story for our annual Island Journal about working waterfront access in Portland. Those who were here then will remember the turning point moment when condos—large, four-story structures—rose on Central… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Running the regulation gauntlet

My husband, Bruce, launched his lobster boat at the end of March and was setting traps by the first week of April. He spent the winter painting buoys, repairing old traps, and building new ones. By the time he was ready to set out again, 600 of his 800 traps… SEE MORE

Sorting lobster in Stonington. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

New lobster size rules considered

It never rains but it pours. That’s the way New England lobstermen already grappling with the May 1 deadline to comply with new rules aimed at protecting right whales must be feeling. The latest challenge is that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has put changing the gauge—the measure… SEE MORE