Working Waterfront

Picking up the migratory cues

By Allison Carmen Before moving to the Northeast, I spent part of my undergrad training as a National Association of Underwater Instructors research diver. When we weren’t on assignment counting nurse sharks or sea bass deep in the Catalina kelp forests, my scuba friends and I could be found finning… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Great Lakes water poses questions of balance

"Enjoy your cup of Lake Superior," a voice said. I looked at the steaming coffee in my hand. I hadn't connected the water used to brew my coffee with the great body right outside the window, but of course for the residents of Madeline Island and for the other 48… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Anxiety rises over battered coasts, battered communities

Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore By Elizabeth Rush (2018; Milkweed Editions) Reviewed by Tina Cohen Elizabeth Rush’s Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore brings readers to places along America’s edges where life is changing. These places are being redefined by rising sea levels, by storms battering coasts, and by… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Considering the spectacular Sheepscot

By Catherine Schmitt There is a break in the ragged Maine coastline between Seguin Island Light and Damariscove, a widening where the Atlantic Ocean floods into a rock-ledged bay, and through a complicated network of glacial-scoured back rivers, side channels, and islands. As the tide turns and the wind shifts, birds… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Three simple solutions to Maine’s bait shortage

By Lillian Saul The three proposals outlined below would, if implemented even partially, mitigate the looming bait shortages for lobstermen across the Gulf of Maine. They directly respond to informal talk of a 400-trap limit and instead take into account the polychrome interests and needs of Maine communities and lobstermen.… SEE MORE

Marine

Working Waterfront

Waiting with ‘baited’ breath

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in remote coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. By Dan Debord First, there was the early morning wakeup, lying in bed, wide-awake with anticipation, for an hour until… SEE MORE

Boats in a protected anchorage on Grand Manan

Working Waterfront

Maritime Canada as Maine’s cousin

By Tom Groening One of my college professors, Louis Simpson, won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1964. He was a wonderful teacher, and I sought out his work, even after graduating. One of his poems from the early 1980s has lingered in my memory. It’s from the perspective of… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Gentle giant of the sea paddles into Maine waters

By Wanda Curtis One of the largest fish increasingly seen in the Gulf of Maine is the Mola mola, or ocean sunfish. These gentle giants, which can grow up to 5,000 pounds, are found in temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world. It’s been nicknamed the “swimming head” because the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ferry service cuts late boat to and from Vinalhaven

By Tom Groening Citing safety concerns and the need to comply with federal regulations, the Maine State Ferry Service has adopted changes in policy and schedule. One sweeping change across the service—which links Matinicus, Vinalhaven, North Haven, Islesboro, Swan’s Island, and Frenchboro to the mainland—will mean passengers in their cars… SEE MORE

Brunswick High School Marine Biology students test our their waders on their first day at the outdoor classroom on Maquoit Bay.

Working Waterfront

Brunswick boosts next generation of marine entrepreneurs

KELLI PARK Brunswick High School Marine Biology students check green crab traps with their teacher, Andrew McCullough. Story and Photos by Kelli Park Young marine entrepreneurs in Maine are seeing new opportunities evolve almost as quickly as the changing tides. In Brunswick, the Student Shellfish Initiative is helping some of… SEE MORE