Working Waterfront

Muffins, doughnuts and the little blue house

By Barbara Fernald Forty years ago I had a college roommate who amazed her friends by making English muffins from scratch. She baked them in a covered skillet sprinkled with cornmeal to keep them from sticking. She passed the recipe along to those of us who were interested. A few… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine Sail Freight offers new way to think about trade

What do we who produce food from the land and sea have in common? For one thing, a changing climate. Changes in the weather have big impacts on the businesses and industries that straddle nature and the market. Another challenge is that farmers and fisher people are getting older, and… SEE MORE

Protestors outside Bangor's federal building.

Working Waterfront

Environment is a wild card for lobster

In June, a battery of highly paid lawyers sat at a table in federal court in Bangor, the company they represent on the hook for dumping mercury in the lower Penobscot River decades earlier. It was easy to imagine them being anxious as they listened to an opposing lawyer explain… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What you hear about lobsters, and what’s true

There are oft-told stories that long ago lobsters were food fit only for the poor, that the prisoners at the Maine State Penitentiary (and apprentices in Boston) refused to eat them more than twice a week, and that they were so plentiful and poorly regarded that farmers used them for… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ship becomes launch pad for naval target practice

By Benjamin Stevens On board the USNS Washington Chambers, a merchant marine ship designed to carry cargo, four of us stood on the flying bridge, waiting with our eyes to the sky. The Pacific sun beat down on us, but we didn’t care. We were waiting for a fly-by from… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Be on the lookout for ‘oceans of jelly’

By Nick Record Last summer, beachgoers and mariners along the coast of Maine reported dense aggregations of jellyfish—mostly lion’s mane and moon jellies, with reports of salps later on in the year. The gelatinous critters bothered swimmers, clogged bilge pumps, gummed up lobster traps, and fascinated ocean geeks like me.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Parallel parking at sea means thinking two steps ahead

By Benjamin Stevens Growing up in a fishing community, I got to see countless lobster boats make their tight turns and sudden stops at the Islesford coop dock. Boaters love to show off, and there is no feeling like executing a slick maneuver in front of a crowd of tourists.… SEE MORE

Some of the 2015 island students who received college scholarships through the Island Institute.

Working Waterfront

Island identity an important strand

Editor's note: Davis Boardman of Islesboro was the featured speaker at the Island Institute's annual Scholars Luncheon on May 30 at Point Lookout in Northport at which 68 students were awarded scholarships totaling $150,300 through the nonprofit's Island Education Fund. These are her remarks. I started at Barnard College feeling… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Thinking like a banker and a fisherman

By Rob Snyder Fishermen from 15 U.S. fishing communities recently met in Boston to talk fish and fishing. But if you closed your eyes and listened to the discussion, you would have assumed it was a room full of bankers. They talked of valuing new assets and entering new markets,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Birds on the brain, birds at my window

By Barbara Fernald As I sat at my kitchen table attempting to pull something out of my overloaded-by-too-much-to-do brain for this column, I gazed out through the window, taking in the lilac bush where the blossoms were just opening. Birds were flying back and forth between the bush and the… SEE MORE