The Isle au Haut Electric Power Co. is most of the way through a years-long project to install a new undersea electric cable to the unbridged island. Over several days in late February, contractors came together to splice together six spools of cable in Belfast, then use a barge to install the cable over roughly six miles between Isle au…

The board of Waterman’s Community Center has announced that Christie Hallowell will retire from her role of executive director in October 2026, after 21 years of service. A search is…

My mother, who was born, grew up, lived, and died in Portland and environs, was not much of a talker. She had that taciturnity sometimes associated with old-time Mainers. Mainers…

I have a short and complicated history with scallops. Growing up in Maryland, my fondness for seafood mostly extended to the basics: canned tuna; flaky white fish; some crab, shrimp,…

Maine's coast is beautiful, with mountains to mudflats, pine trees to pebbles. It is more than a scenic backdrop; it is an economic hub for the marine economy. The working…

Part of my job at Island Institute is to elevate the questions and observations of people who make a living from or are otherwise intricately connected to the Gulf of…

Reflections is written by Island Institute Fellows, recent grads of college and master’s programs who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute,…

It’s been an old-fashioned winter so far. Outside it’s all snow, cold. My phone is full of videos from Minneapolis that look like they could just as well be from…

Three towns perched on the shore of Boston Harbor can now devise rules for shellfish harvesting, something no municipality near the harbor has been able to do for more than…

Field Notes is a feature highlighting the work of staff at Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. Name: Ken Stevenson Title: Community Development Officer Focus: I connect island and marine-economy dependent communities…