The beach on Elmer’s Island where the bottle was found. PHOTO: COURTESY TIM FARRELLY

Working Waterfront

Return to sender: Island graduates get message in bottle

[caption id="attachment_23865" align="alignleft" width="240"] The bottle with the letters it carried. PHOTO: COURTESY TIM FARRELLY[/caption] The senior class of 2020 at Vinalhaven School set adrift a message in a bottle as part of its graduation ceremonies last year. The idea came from Bianca Barroso, the graduation coordinator. Due to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cleaning up our mess means being bold, practical

The story horrified me. It hit close to home—literally. And it angered many, some demanding action be taken at the public policy level. The story, broken in mid-December by Ethan Andrews, editor of the Camden-based Free Press, reported that some bales of shredded plastic waste had apparently fallen off a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Seafood: great for health, environment, economy

Seafood has a lot going for it when it comes to health, the environment, and the economy. “We’d like to see more seafood on people’s plates and also see working waterfronts and coastal communities thriving and not just surviving,” said Kyle Foley, senior program manager of the sustainable seafood program… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine Maritime student honored by peers

Dylan Bunker explains his course of study at Maine Maritime Academy in much the way Goldilocks explained her taste in porridge. There are three tracks for the marine engineering degree, the 22-year-old senior says. One is very much a hands-on discipline, one is rooted in the theoretical, and one has… SEE MORE

Cruise ship seen from West Street in Bar Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Lost at sea: Cruise ships faces uncertain future

On paper, Bar Harbor was expecting more than 150 cruise ship visits this year. In reality—fat chance. The COVID-19 tsunami finds the global cruise ship industry in shambles and has left traditional ports of call, including a handful in Maine, with many more questions than answers. “We need to figure… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Basking shark washes ashore in Bremen

A dead basking shark washed ashore in Bremen in early January. The Department of Marine Resources responded to calls from local residents, and marine biologists took tissue samples. According to the website Oceana, the basking shark is the second largest fish in the world, and like the largest fish (the whale… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Massachusetts proposes February to May lobstering ‘pause’

A dire decline of North Atlantic right whales and a pair of court rulings are pushing regulators to propose new restrictions on lobstering in New England waters. The proposed regulations aim to reduce the risk of the endangered whales becoming entangled with lobster trap gear. While much of the new… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Sea sickness of another kind

People often ask me if I am a sailor. I demur, admitting only to owning a boat. I have too much awareness of and respect for real sailors to compare my level of skill. Like many mariners, I get seasick, unless the seas are calm or I am sufficiently infused… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

South Portland’s history is in good hands

Like many of its counterparts around the country, the South Portland Historical Society’s museum has been closed since the onset of the pandemic. The small size of the building in Bug Light Park, combined with the older age of the society’s volunteers, make keeping the museum’s doors open a risk.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Minke whale skeleton finds second life

Photos by William Trevaskis Students, staff, and visitors to North Haven Community School are greeted by a new, impressive sight when they enter the school grounds: a 26-foot minke whale skeleton, mounted in a spruce timber frame. The display is the culmination of a years-long project, begun in 2016 when… SEE MORE