John Wissemann’s “Friendship Harbor 2013,” mixed media on paper, 22 by 30 inches PHOTO: JEFF FULLER

Working Waterfront

John Wissemann stencils Friendship

In a scene in Jeffrey Mathias’s 2014 video “John Wissemann: Stencils & Pencils & Working Harbors of Maine,” the artist visits Friendship Harbor with fellow painter Sam Cady who lives in the neighborhood. As they admire the configurations of sheds, docks, and boats, Cady notes that Friendship has made “a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Goodbye ‘Pandalus borealis’

Many years ago, my family and I began to spend summers on Vinalhaven. Over the years, first we were summer people, then longer term visitors, and now fortunately homeowners; much has changed. Not the island so much, although it has. But the oceanic world surrounding us. First to go were… SEE MORE

Three young women pose for a photograph at the steamship wharf at Sandy Point in Stockton Springs. PHOTO: COURTESY PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Steamboat days in Stockton Springs

Three young women pose nervously for the camera in our image this month. They are dressed for an outing and are holding parcels, maybe containing their lunch. Their chaperon, a spinsterly-looking character, is clearly not amused at the spectacle they are causing on the busy steamboat wharf at Sandy Point… SEE MORE

The dam on the St. Croix River. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Indigenous, U.S., Canadian efforts restoring fish run

Ten years ago, the run of alewives in the Skutik (St. Croix) River hovered around 16,000. Though that’s more than the 900 fish from a decade earlier, it was not a great total for a river that once held millions of fish. It was, however, the beginning of what many… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The year of the working waterfront

When Island Institute began publishing this newspaper, The Working Waterfront, 30 years ago, we picked our name with intention. We wanted to cover local, critical, and the sometimes hidden yet prescient stories that spoke to the economy, politics, and culture on Maine’s islands and coasts. No other mental image quite… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Navigating 2024

What challenges will 2024 bring to the Maine coast, and how will leaders respond? SEE MORE

The Harry G. Marr yard in Damariscotta, which today is home to downtown Damariscotta's municipal parking lot and boat launch. The work underway is a crew framing the minesweeper USS Security . PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

Beyond destroyers and Liberty ships

Maine’s role in the nation’s effort during the World War II is most frequently discussed in terms of destroyers and Liberty ships built, military fortifications sprinkled throughout Casco Bay, and the influx of naval personnel swarming the city of Portland on shore leave from warships patrolling the Atlantic. However, there… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lobster lady’s story meets lobster kids

The Lobster Lady By Alexandra Hinrichs, illustrations by Jamie Hogan; Charlesbridge Publishing (2023) Island Readers & Writers, an organization connecting children and books in communities on Maine’s islands and Washington County, recently sent Alison Johnson, director of its school programs, with author Alexandra Hinrichs, to Vinalhaven to speak to its… SEE MORE

Rhiannon Hampson, left, state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, joins Kim Hamilton, Island Institute president at an event announcing the nonprofit being awarded two key grants. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Island Institute awarded USDA funding

Island Institute, a Rockland-based community development organization focused on island and coastal communities, has been awarded two key grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The nonprofit landed a Rural Community Development Initiative grant of $201,000 to support the Island Institute Fellows program. Island Institute Fellows in Brooklin, Tremont, and… SEE MORE

Rockweed on the shore at low tide. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Rockweed harvesting is sustainable

Contrary to a recent article in this newspaper (“Illegal rockweed harvesting threatens environment,” November issue), rockweed harvesting is an environmentally sustainable practice that is crucial to the future of Maine’s working waterfront. The article took a surprisingly sour view of the industry, overstating the number of bad actors and instances… SEE MORE