Working Waterfront

The man, the rock, and the light

By Donna Miller Damon Located literally halfway between Cape Elizabeth and Cape Small, Halfway Rock not only marks Casco Bay’s midpoint, but also its outer limits. When you hear mariners say they are going fishing “outside,” you know they are headed out beyond “the Rock.” On July 26, as part… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Safety systems worked when ship lost power off Eastport

By Tom Walsh Moving 600-foot ships through a narrow passage known for its raging tides seems like dangerous work. Especially when things go wrong. But Capt. Gerry Morrison of Perry doesn’t think so. Morrison, a port pilot for Eastport, was commended at a recent meeting of the Eastport Port Authority… SEE MORE

A glass creation that suggests algae and phytoplankton by Krisanne Baker

Working Waterfront

How art can make science understandable

By Stephanie Bouchard Ecological artist Krisanne Baker of Waldoboro focuses much of her art work on water, so she spends a lot of time in and around it, but one night a couple of years ago really blew her away. She’d been working in a hot glassblowing studio. When she… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lobstering women: Heroic haulers of traps

By Carl Little The first painting in Susan Tobey White’s exhibition “Lobstering Women of Maine” at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport is a tour-de-force: a woman wearing an orange Grundéns bib dumps a crate of herring into holding bins. The fish form a kind of wriggling waterfall as the red-haired… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Lemonade from lemons, or tasty seafood from invasive crabs

By Kate Tagai Thousands flock to the Maine coast each summer to crack open the boiled red shells of lobster, drench the contents in butter, and toss it down the hatch. Fishermen catch more than 119 million pounds annually for consumers, but Gabriela Bradt from the University of New Hampshire… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Oysters—from delicacy to staple?

By Kelli Park Emily Selinger has made it her mission to change the way we look at oysters, one farm-share at a time. Selinger spent her childhood on the Harraseeket River in Freeport, where she fell in love with working on the water. She taught sailing classes at a young… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Penobscot Marine Museum hosts Maine Marine Fare conference on Sept. 28

On Saturday, Sept. 28, Penobscot Marine Museum’s Maine Marine Fare takes a closer look at the state of Maine fisheries with a full day conference. The classic image of a Maine fisherman is the lobsterman who owns and operations his own boat with a small crew. While this is still the… SEE MORE

A right whale entangled in what is believed to be Canadian crab gear.

Working Waterfront

Canadians also working to protect right whales

By Craig Idlebrook In response to an unexpectedly deadly summer for the North American right whale population in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Canadian government, conservationists, and fishermen are racing to put in place new measures to prevent ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements for the critically endangered mammal.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A woman’s place on the working waterfront

Story and photos by Kelli Park From hand-hauling lobster traps to selling more than 10 million pounds of bait annually, Jennie Bichrest knows the working waterfront inside out. This summer, as the lobster industry faces a shortage of herring, the bait of choice, her business—Purse Line Bait—is playing a critical… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Shiver me timbers! It’s a pirate wedding!

PHOTOS BY PEACH FREDERICK Two members of The Dark Rose, a pirate club of sorts, which participates in pirate-themed events in places like Damariscotta, Eastport and Fort Knox in Prospect, tied the knot (forgive the pun) on June 30 in Rockport. The groom is Darren Lowe, who goes by “Rigs”… SEE MORE