Working Waterfront

The smoking gun: what the fossil fuel industry knew (and when it knew it)

The smoking gun on climate change is, well, the smoke. Or at least carbon pollution. But the real smoking gun, said activists from the Center for Climate Integrity and Union of Concerned Scientists, is that the fossil fuel industry knew what impacts carbon pollution would have on the climate. And… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Luke’s Lobster, Island Institute join forces

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged Maine’s fishermen and coastal communities in an unprecedented way. Diminished demand for Maine’s seafood has left Maine’s marine economy at risk. The Island Institute and Luke’s Lobster have formed a strategic partnership and leveraged more than $2.5 million in funding and shared financial resources to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The beauty and wonder of seaweed, artfully rendered

The Curious World of Seaweed By Josie Iselin (2019) Just being told something seems curious makes you curious to know more about that, yes? And so Josie Iselin’s newest book, The Curious World of Seaweed, promises and delivers–probably more than you ever knew you’d enjoy knowing about seaweed. This is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The pulsating kaleidoscope of Jill Hoy’s world

If we could see the Maine coast through Jill Hoy’s eyes, it might be like looking through a broken kaleidoscope. You’d still be able to make out the shapes of rock, tree, sea, headland, and boat, but their angular components would become saturated and vibrate with color. In a lively… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A new bridge, and new beginnings

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. “Why would a young woman like you want to come here?” This was one of the first things said to me… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Port authority wins $4 million grant

The Maine Port Authority has received a $4,098,360 grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. The port authority sought funding from a port infrastructure program for improvements at the International Marine Terminal in Portland. “The International Marine Terminal has experienced a significant increase in volume in recent years, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Researchers track deadly ‘blob’ in Cape Cod Bay

In the fall of 2019, lobster fishermen off the coast of Cape Cod pulled up traps and discovered a ghastly find—dead lobsters. An invisible force had snuffed the life of the crustaceans while still in their traps, along with the life of any other marine life unlucky enough to be… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine climate assessment provides dire numbers

A new assessment of climate change and its effects on the state provides concrete numbers that confirm what many here already sense—Maine is warming. The average temperature is 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in 1895; the Gulf of Maine is 2.9 degrees warmer. The weather has become more extreme and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The sublime joy of sailing, courtesy the Apprenticeshop

When power boats supplanted sailboats, the argument could be made that mariners were free of the reliance on the vagaries of the wind. But does that freedom to travel wherever and whenever outweigh the freedom one feels when gliding across the water in a sailboat? Those at the Apprenticeshop in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The man is gone, but the story remains

I never met Stephen H. Robbins Jr., a legendary offshore lobsterman of Stonington who passed away in July of this year. However, I do know Randy Olson, a marine-biologist-turned-filmmaker, who made one of his first movies about Stevie and his family, nearly 30 years ago. I watched this film again… SEE MORE