Working Waterfront

Safety training is what saves fishermen’s lives

By Xiaoxi Wang If you think the assertion that the most dangerous job in the U.S. can be found in New England sounds… well, a little fishy, you’re right. Commercial fishing has been considered the second most dangerous occupation in the U.S. for decades. In 2014, out of every 100,000… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Oped: Wind energy project bad fit for Monhegan

By Travis Dow Island Institute President Rob Snyder recently wrote a generally supportive piece about offshore wind (The Working Waterfront, February/March issue: “On offshore wind, we weigh community costs, benefits”), including the Maine Aqua Ventus (MAV) project proposed for just off Monhegan. In it, he wrote: “The Island Institute supports… SEE MORE

A view of Swan's Island's Burnt Cove Lighthouse.

Working Waterfront

PUC vote raises question: Are we all Swan’s Island?

If you live in Jonesport, Rangeley or New Sweden, you may not feel like you have much in common with Swan’s Island and neighboring Frenchboro Island, and that’s assuming that you’ve even heard of them before. But a recent decision at the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) suggests you have more… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How to understand Maine’s ‘High North’ opportunities

By Dan Bookham Since 2013 when the Icelandic steamship line Eimskip established operations in Portland, there has been growing buzz around Maine’s ocean-driven connections to our north. Ship calls to Portland’s International Marine Terminal have steadily increased, more and more Maine officials, economic developers and business people have made the… SEE MORE

Sailboats and people on Chebeague Island shore.

Working Waterfront

Public support needed to preserve public access

As Maine’s coastline changes hands, access to the shore becomes more contentious and litigious. Access is controversial, and this is especially true on islands. What happens when legal claims clash with local traditions? While the Colonial Ordinance—the document on which current law is derived—allows for fishing, fowling and navigating in… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The problem is ours to fix, so ‘Open your mouth!’

By Laurie Sproul “So, open your mouth lad! For every voice counts!” Dr. Seuss’ logic, expressed in One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, prods us to vote. However, in our complex world it’s difficult sorting through the issues. Take climate change. Sea level rise threatening sewer plants; salt… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What happens after the centennial?

By Aimee Beal Church With some relatives in town this summer, my family and I swam at Echo Lake in Acadia National Park almost every day for a week. On a typical afternoon we’d stake out a little spot with our towels on the granite ledges at the bluffs, sharing… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A renewed river benefits people and wildlife

As if on cue, a tagged Atlantic salmon was detected swimming above the Howland dam. Soon, people from throughout the state and beyond would gather where the Piscataquis and Penobscot rivers meet to celebrate the completion of a nature-like fish bypass around the dam. The final milestone in the Penobscot… SEE MORE

Some of the early members of Maine Coast Artists

Working Waterfront

Maine rocks the arts, the arts rock Maine

In 2012, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, arts and culture production accounted for $698 billion, or 4.32 percent of the nation’s economy. Surprise: that’s more than construction, transportation or tourism. In Maine, by 2014, there were 3,262 arts-related businesses sustaining 10,667 jobs. In other words, the arts account for… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Public spaces are good for the economy

Thriving public spaces contribute to the economic vitality of a community. Early New England communities often were built around a public common or public green. Initially, they might have served as grazing land for animals or a place for the exchange of goods. They often helped to organize and showcase… SEE MORE