Working Waterfront

The North Haven effect

Winter is the time when North Haven’s diaspora spreads far and wide. Sure, the core 350 of us stay put, keeping the lights on at Waterman’s, the school, the store, and the church; plowing the roads and fixing burst pipes; and carrying on living in our home town. But there… SEE MORE

Robbie Begin and his crew bring a purse seine full of pogies up alongside his boat Pogie Patrol.

Working Waterfront

Return of menhaden, bigger quotas, good news for Maine

Wherever there’s an abundance of Atlantic menhaden along the East Coast, there, too, is an abundance of other wildlife—humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins, striped bass and bluefish, and bald eagles and osprey. That’s because menhaden, commonly called “pogies” by fishermen, are a key forage species. “When we saw the pogies… SEE MORE

JB Turner of Belfast's Front Street Shipyard speaks at the Island Institute's Waypoints Forum in Portland on Jan. 19. At left is the Island Instiute's Briana Warner. At far right is Mark Ouellette of Axiom Technologies

Working Waterfront

From patriarchy and matriarchy to process

On Jan. 19, the Island Institute hosted its second annual Waypoints Forum in Portland. (Videos of the presentations can be seen here.) The theme this year was “Waterfront Futures.” During a panel we called “Big Ideas on the Waterfront,” we heard from business owners who have placed big bets on the future… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘And the Sparrow Fell,’ a tragedy of heroism and healing

It’s the story of a boy, a girl, and another boy. But Robert Mrazek’s latest novel, And the Sparrow Fell, is not quite a love story. Yes, college student Rick falls hard for Kate, only to learn she’s with his brother Tom, and conflict ensues. But the larger tensions that… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Norway firm plans $400 million land-based salmon farm in Belfast

From left: Elizabeth Ransom (Ransom Consulting), Lars-Henrik Røren (Chairman of NAF), Sen. Angus King, Erik Heim (CEO and founder of Nordic Aquafarms), and Peter DelGreco and Ashley Pringle (Maine & Co). A Norway-based company is planning to build the world’s largest land-based Atlantic salmon-raising operation in Belfast, the firm’s CEO… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Three takes on making connections

A letter recently landed on my desk from a reader of The Working Waterfront. The man, who lives in New Harbor, receives the newspaper in his mailbox; we mail the paper to everyone on Maine’s 15 year-round islands, as well to all of Mount Desert Island, the Blue Hill-Stonington peninsula,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island mud inspires Vinalhaven man’s skin-care business

Inspired by the natural resources of his island home, Vinalhaven’s Willie Drury has launched a line of skin care products he’s calling Maine Magic Mud. Drury, 25, returned home after graduating college with a plan to go fishing. He had always been interested in starting a business, but didn't know… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Phil’s road trip, part II

In the last issue, I wrote affectionately about my first Volkswagen camper, a 1966, and I ended that column with a reference to the 2002 Eurovan my wife and I now own and to the beginnings of our most recent road trip, which began on Sept. 29 of last year.… SEE MORE

Ice on North Haven's public landing area in January 2014.

Working Waterfront

An island as I least expected it

Reflections is a monthly column 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. Maria Keeler At times, I need to remind myself that I am living on North Haven, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Carving the Maine coast

Members of the committee that helped bring the sculpture “Home and Away," by Robert Leverich, to Castine gather shortly after installation. Creating the Maine Sculpture Trail: Legacy of the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium, Donna Salisbury and Tilan Copson, editors From 2007 to 2014, sculptor Jesse Salisbury from Steuben and… SEE MORE