The Working Waterfront newspaper reports on the people and forces that shape Maine’s coastal and island communities. As publisher, Island Institute’s premise is that the cultural, environmental, and community assets here are rare and valuable, and are worth fighting for.
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March 11

Cooke is not minding its Maine pens

Die-offs, disease, and parasites plague sites
Maine should follow the example of British Columbia and Washington state. Forty-three years ago, anglers from five fish and game clubs in Washington County formed the Downeast Salmon Federation. Today DSF employs 12 staff and conducts a variety of conservation activities to recover all species of sea-run fish in Maine. Over the years, DSF has taken positions on many fisheries,…
BY DWAYNE SHAW
Traps on a dock in Corea.
March 5

Lobster landings dip, but price was up

Value of total landings of all species at $709 million
Lobster harvesters earned $528.4 million in 2024, with an average per-pound price of $6.14, according to data released by the state Department of Marine Resources. The so-called boat price, that…
BY TOM GROENING
February 20

It's time for an honest conversation about aquaculture

Opposition may not be authentic, or reality based
In the last few years we have watched the promise of an innovative and dynamic seafood industry be picked apart by groups flying a false flag of environmentalism or “fishing heritage.”
BY BENJAMIN FORD
February 19

Cape Cod fishing boats add water sensors

Real-time data will help regulators and fishermen
Within the next year, some 150 Cape Cod fishing boats will be equipped with sensors to collect vital information about ocean temperatures and water oxygen levels off the northeast coast…
BY CRAIG IDLEBROOK
February 19

Writing prompts personal revelations

Collection of Maine-based essays a pleasing read
It's impossible to not be moved by someone opening up this way, and the only way it can fail is when it is overwrought, pretentious, or over-written. There are a few pieces that slide into these sins, but the bulk are honest in their aim.
REVIEW BY TOM GROENING
The Pinky schooner Glad Tidings.
February 19

Fishing photos: ‘What’s going on here?’

Book explains fishing history through National Fisherman photographs
Crowley has chosen dozens and dozens of images from the museum’s collection and explains what is being depicted. In 2012, Diversified Communications, publisher of National Fisherman, donated its thousands of pre-digital (that is, film) photo archives to the museum.
BY TOM GROENING
Harvested rockweed at a boat launch in Hancock. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING
February 14

A life in seaweed, seen from inside

Gouldsboro Bay harvester shares business realities
For the past 50 years, I have harvested seaweeds for food, medicine, and fertilizer, working within a five-mile radius of a home cove on Gouldsboro Bay where I keep my…
BY LARCH HANSON
Pauline Inman's “Fisherman’s Boots,” 1943, wood engraving, edition eight of 40. COURTESY TIDES INSTITUTE AND MUSEUM OF ART, EASTPORT
February 11

Pauline Inman engraves Downeast shore

Elements of waterfront rendered, powerfully, in line
Inman belongs to a diverse and exceptional line of printmakers who have found inspiration in Maine, from Frank Benson, Ernest Haskell, Rockwell Kent, Stow Wengenroth, Carroll Thayer Berry, and Peggy Bacon to Thomas Cornell, Marvin Bileck, Holly Meade, Alison Hildreth, Susan Groce, and Siri Beckman—to name (quite) a few.
BY CARL LITTLE
February 11

Celebrating a successful community-owned fiber network

Name: Christa Thorpe Title: Senior community development officer in Island Institute’s Center for Sustainable Communities Focus: I co-lead Island Institute’s Future of Fishing initiative that aims to build resilience by…
STAFF
Dave Brayton prepares to harpoon a swordfish on the Georges Bank. PHOTO: PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM
February 11

Capturing the kill

Photographer went the distance
He used a polarizing filter to help lessen the glare on the surface so the swordfish could be clearly seen; those preparations, coupled with some savvy darkroom work, produced the cover shot.
BY KEVIN JOHNSON

Island Postcards

EPISODE 10: Keep the Light Shining

Two ambitious young women swam around the entire Island of Isle au Haut during the summer of 2019 to raise money for crucial renovations to the lighthouse.

WATCH ALL ISLAND POSTCARDS

 

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