Bruce Fernald prepares to unload his boat

Working Waterfront

When chefs and lobstermen meet, live

Anyone around Little Cranberry Island would say my husband Bruce, a lobster fisherman, has a knack for getting involved in some very interesting media situations. (See “One lobsterman’s 15 minutes of fame” at workingwaterfrontarchives.org.) Friends joke that he likes attention from the press, but lately most of the situations have revolved… SEE MORE

Students from the Blueberry Harvest School learn about sustainable fisheries during an August 2014 trip in Frenchman Bay.

Working Waterfront

How Trump administration’s immigration policies are hurting Maine

By Julia Brown Maine recently hosted statewide “Families Belong Together” rallies protesting the administration’s so-called “zero tolerance” policy. While the unprecedented policy of separating and detaining asylum seekers has rightfully taken center stage, this administration is applying its anti-immigrant agenda to all facets of immigration law. This indiscriminate attack on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Islands in the woods, islands in the water

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 “An Island Fellow? Well, then how did you end up here in Millinocket?” I hear this question less frequently now… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Campagnoli’s Home Stretch is Midcoast lyric gothic

Early in Michael Campagnoli’s The Home Stretch: a cycle of poems, a poem titled “If We’re Not A Dream We’re Nothing” sketches, in 13 short lines, the bleakness and bareness of a November apple orchard, where the migrant pickers have come and gone and all that’s left is “empty trees …… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

One more from the road

The reader will recall that we, in our 2003 Eurovan VW Camper, had thus far avoided camping altogether for the first four nights of our great camping adventure. Day five was no different. Having spent the night in a Hampton Inn in Fredericksburg, Va., I was up early the next… SEE MORE

Dock jumping is a favorite summer activity on Long Island.

Working Waterfront

Why Long Island seceded from Portland

By Mark Greene Were you wondering how Long Island is doing 25 years after seceding from the city of Portland? Well, we’ll offer a polite answer: Not bad, thank you. On the surface many folks still think of the Long Island secession as a tax revolt and one could make… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Reading the ‘priestess of nature’ who took on the ‘elixirs of death’

By Tom Walsh If you don’t know much—or even anything at all—about Rachel Carson, here’s your chance. The Library of America recruited the help of editor Sandra Steingraber in recently publishing a new retrospective on marine biologist Rachel Carson and her seminal role in jump-starting environmentalism in post-World War II… SEE MORE

Bailey Island and Orr's Island in Harpswell are known for their scenic vistas.

Working Waterfront

Mythic summers on Bailey Island

… So that’s how it is out there in Maine. Be careful out there – Patricia Ranzoni, “Cultural Guide” The southwest tip of Bailey Island is called Land’s End, for good reason. Just off the gift shop parking lot, the other side of Jaquish Island, is the open ocean.… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The search for topic leaves trail of island life

People sometimes ask me how I decide what to write about. Today, on deadline, I’ve got only a vague thought I had last week while picking up groceries after a trip to see my grandson in Baltimore. Maybe by trying to answer the question, I’ll be able to finish my… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Soft-shell clam population decline calls for cooperation

By Susie Arnold, Jessica Gribbon Joyce and Roger Stephenson Mainers likely have heard about the precipitous decline in soft-shell clam landings over the last five years. While the fishery remains the third most valuable fishery in the state at over $12 million, licenses have declined over the last several decades… SEE MORE