2011 Island Journal – Volume 27

v View and Download pdf Table of Contents – 2011 Island Journal – Volume 27 Island Circumambulation A walking tour of the perimeter of Vinalhaven PHIL CROSSMAN — page 8 It’s Not About the Scenery Writing from-and about-Matinicus Island EVA MURRAY — page 16 Holding It Together An interview with Randy Cushman, Captain of F/V ELLA… Read more » SEE MORE

2007 Island Journal – Volume 23

View and Download pdf Table of Contents – 2007 Island Journal – Volume 23 Dedication — page 4 From the Helm Taking Care of the Future — page 5 Fresh Eyes On remote Matinicus, a community comes together By Steve Cartwright — page 8 Rabble-Rousers Islands Coalition organizes to make a difference By David Platt —… Read more » SEE MORE

1988 Island Journal – Volume 5

View and Download pdf Table of Contents – 1988 Island Journal – Volume 5 EDITORIALS — page 3 LOG OF THE FISH HAWK – Philip Conkling — page 4 FISHING Down and Dirty: The Intertidal Subculture – Mike Brown — page 7 Shark Alley – Jane Day — page 10 Farming Silver: Salmon Aquaculture – Philip… Read more » SEE MORE

1986 Island Journal – Volume 3

View and Download pdf Table of Contents – 1986 Island Journal – Volume 3 Letters From the Executive Director, Editors, and Art Director — page 3 Resource Management, Education, Projects, Publications, Membership — page 4 Log of the Fish Hawk, Island Institute Field Work — page 6 Seeing Woods for the Trees: Island Forestry –… Read more » SEE MORE

1984 Island Journal – Volume 1

VIEW and DOWNLOAD PDF Table of Contents – 1984 Island Journal – Volume 1 Letter from the Editor i The Mission of the Island Institute ii Membership iii Educational Programs iv The State of the State-Owned Islands v Photovoltaics vi Lunatic Power vii ALONG THE ARCHIPELAGO On the Lamb – Raising Sheep on… Read more » SEE MORE

Luke Maker, 8, of Machiasport runs the family skiff through a cove earlier this summer using an electric outboard purchased through a grant from Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Luke and is father, Ryan, fish for lobster. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Lobster season brings sense of normalcy

The 2024 lobster season has brought Maine fishermen something they haven’t experienced in recent years: A sense of normalcy. After several years of volatile price swings for their catches, unpredictable harvests, and increased costs for everything from bait to fuel, this year is shaping up to be unusually ordinary, lobstermen say. With the fall harvest… Read more » SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Unbridged’ Island Reader published

For almost 20 years, The Island Reader has featured the work of residents living on Maine’s unbridged islands. Each edition, published annually by Maine Seacoast Mission, contains a range of stories, prose, art, and photographs from a wide variety of island residents and is also edited by islanders. The recently published Vol. 18 is “the… Read more » SEE MORE

This image shows a dead whale in Vinalhaven’s Carver’s Harbor in 1918. PHOTO: MAINE MARITIME MUSEUM

Working Waterfront

What created Maine’s brief whaling industry

Menhaden, also referred to as pogies or mossbunkers, are currently one of several species of bait fish used in the lobster industry. Historically, these fish were harvested for entirely different purposes: leather production and agriculture. By the mid-19th century, numerous oil processing plants were established in Maine to refine menhaden into fish oil for leather… Read more » SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The new shape of water

How does water shape communities? I think about this as I load onto the Sunbeam on my way to Frenchboro, an island community off the coast of Mount Desert Island. It is a beautiful blue-sky morning, deceivingly sunny for my weather app to be reading 20 degrees. Working and living on an island puts water… Read more » SEE MORE

A Maine State Ferry Service boat near the Rockland terminal. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Ferry service proposes higher fares

The Maine State Ferry Service is proposing a 18.3% hike in ferry passenger and vehicle fares, citing inflation’s impact on wages, fuel, and vessel repairs. A fare hike was adopted in 2019, finalized only after significant opposition from residents of some the islands that faced especially high fare adjustments. The final rates were amended and… Read more » SEE MORE