An aerial view of the business location.

Working Waterfront

Vessel Services: Where fishing boats go to shop

By William Hall Despite its three-story ice-making plant at the seaward end of the Portland Fish Pier, Vessel Services Inc. is almost invisible to passers-by at the other end, along bustling Commercial Street. But for crews of the two dozen groundfishing craft and 100 or so lobster boats that operate… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Adventures on the sea, adventures of the heart

Wayfarer: A Memoirby James S. Rockefeller Jr. (Islandport Press, 2018) Reviewed by Tina Cohen The book cover features snapshots: an airborne glider, a Friendship sloop under sail, a young man in settings connoting adventure and romance. And then there is the author’s prestigious name. But set aside attributes like wealth… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Shetterly’s Seaweed Chronicles explores history of plunder

Review by Carl Little One April day some 25 years ago, fine mesh fyke nets suddenly appeared in the estuary that leads to the Somesville Mill Pond. The market for elvers—glass eels favored by Japanese diners—had exploded, with astronomical per-pound prices driving the new fishery. As they had with urchins,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Great Lakes islands launch basketball tournament

Editor’s note: The Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, has developed informal partnerships with residents of the islands in the Great Lakes, and we like to feature some reporting by those islanders. By Wil Cwikiel On the first weekend in December, Beaver Island Community School welcomed the Put-in-Bay Panthers, the Mackinac… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

ReVision Energy is reinventing energy economy

TOM GROENING John Luft opens a box of photovoltaic panels at ReVision Energy’s Liberty shop. By Tom Groening You might be tempted to see the success of ReVision Energy as the case of a business stepping up to land an obvious windfall. After all, renewable energy equipment is a hot… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Displaced people finding a home in Middle East crossroads

ROB SNYDER Sand and sky as seen in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan. By Rob Snyder I recently spent a week with a Jordanian friend touring his country. I learned that Jordanians have lived at the center of waves of people and commerce, of politics and art, religions, deserts… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Teen years in Blaine House primed Hildreth for life of service

PETER RALSTON Horace "Hoddy" Hildreth with his wife, Wooly. By Stephanie Bouchard The seed to make a difference in the world was planted at a young age for Horace “Hoddy” Hildreth Jr. It has remained firmly rooted throughout his life. In October, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) recognized… SEE MORE

Swan's Island Donnie Carlson builds a lobster trap.

Working Waterfront

Donnie Carlson found his niche on Swan’s Island

DALE JOYCE/HARBORVIEW STUDIO Donnie Carlson By Jennifer Helman/Photos By Dale Joyce Many people in the lobster industry see fishing as a birthright. They fish because their father fished, and maybe his father before him. Donnie Carlson started on that familiar path, but took an unexpected turn 30-plus years ago. As… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

And they might make good Christmas presents, too

By Sandy Oliver Whole stores are dedicated to helping cooks do their job. Right after bookstores, and just before yarn shops, kitchen stores are my favorite places to browse, though goodness knows there is not much time for that these days, what with taking fewer mainland trips and many more… SEE MORE

Quahog Bay Conservancy staff Alec Bolinger

Working Waterfront

Sea to soil: invasive crabs turn fields green

KELLI PARK Sarah Matel, left, a fruit and vegetable farming intern, and Tom Prohl, fruit and vegetable production manager at Wolfe's Neck Center, empty crates of green crabs into the manure spreader. Story and Photos by Kelli Park It sounds like the elements of a macabre ritual—green crabs, a wood chipper,… SEE MORE