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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May 14

UMaine gets new marine research vessel

Boat was previously a commercial tuna fishing platform
A new teaching and research vessel at the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center is expanding student access to the largest ecosystem on Earth: the open ocean. The new 45-foot vessel is the biggest in the center’s fleet. Previously used as a commercial tuna fishing platform, it will support student training, faculty research, and workforce development within the School of…
STAFF
May 14

Maine lobster scientist Bob Steneck elected to National Academy

Steneck spent more than 40 years at UMaine
In one of the highest honors in American science, the National Academy of Sciences has elected Robert S. Steneck, a longtime University of Maine marine ecologist whose work has reshaped understanding…
STAFF
May 8

Gentrification threatens small coastal towns

Communities can still do something about it
Maine is the oldest state in the nation. Not oldest as in historic. Oldest as in the average age of its people is higher than anywhere else in the country.…
BY STEVE TRAIN
April 27

Success of Artemis II shines light back on our own blue dot

Can space travel renew interest in the oceans?
I’ve never felt more compelled to celebrate Earth Day and World Oceans Day than in 2026. Partly, these holidays—on April 22 and June 8, respectively—help us recommit to conserving our…
BY SUSIE ARNOLD
April 10

A Maine island stressed by climate threats

Photos capture Matinicus buttoning up for winter
Matinicus Isle Plantation, located 20 miles out in the Gulf of Maine, is the furthest offshore year-round settlement on the East Coast of the U.S. In recent years, threats linked…
BY CALVIN KENJIRO GROVER
April 10

Comparing Maine and Mexico fishing communities

UMaine professor contributes to global research
This piece first appeared in UMaine News.   More than 70 percent of Maine’s fishing value comes from American lobster. The fishery has delivered prosperity for decades, but it also…
STAFF
April 10

NASA data helps Maine oyster farmers

Satellites identify best conditions for growth
When oyster farmer Luke Saindon went looking for a place to grow shellfish in Maine, he knew that picking the wrong waters could sink the farm before it began. So…
BY EMILY DEMARCO FOR NASA
April 3

Two journalist memoirs get personal

When the reporter is the story
Boat Baby: A Memoir; By Vicky Nguyen (2025, Simon & Schuster) The Uncool: A Memoir; By Cameron Crowe (2026, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster) Sometimes, the best stories journalists tell…
REVIEW BY TOM GROENING
April 3

The unlikely afterlife of a schooner

Saved by reinvention
As much as we might like to think of ourselves as historically minded, much of our material past survives accidentally. Objects often endure not because generations carefully preserved them, but…
BY KELLY PAGE
Cranberry Report
April 3

Tales from a Town Meeting moderator

Advice for those managing an annual rite of Maine towns
Our annual Town Meeting is March 14 at the Islesford Neighborhood House. I’ve attended more than 40 of these and no two are alike. Some wrap by lunch. Others go…
BY BARBARA FERNALD

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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