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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October 31
Wood, fire, and rocks
The elemental way of cooking is pleasing
Cooking food made it possible for ancient human bodies to divert energy from digesting food to evolving larger brains, according to biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham, who wrote Catching Fire, a book to warm a cook’s heart. For millennia, pre-historic humankind cooked food before they made pottery, before metal of any kind, using rocks heated with wood, peat, or dung fires…
October 31
A room of one’s own
Island group’s housing work pays off
Whatever the subject matter of my column is, the overarching theme is always life on North Haven. As Bill and I enter our 19th year on this little unbridged slice…
October 31
Fish are shrinking in size, according to new study
Larger populations are balancing out biomass
University of Maine ecology professor Brian McGill helped discover that the average body sizes of fish are shrinking as part of an international project with 16 other researchers. The team,…
October 31
The late Ted Hoskins understood fishermen
Robin Alden remembers his practical, visionary support
The following is an edited version of remarks by Robin Alden about Rev. Ted Hoskins’ work in fisheries in Maine and across the globe, spoken at his memorial service on…
October 30
‘Hub of marine research excellence’ planned in Harpswell
Quahog Bay Conservancy purchases former inn property
This story first appeared in The Anchor, a nonprofit newspaper and website covering the Harpswell community. It is reprinted with permission and gratitude. The Quahog Bay Conservancy plans to transform…
October 30
From weir to can
Kosti Ruohamaa’s work for the sardine council saved
In 1951, the Maine Sardine Council hired Finnish American Kosti Ruohomaa to document the sardine industry. The Maine Legislature created the council that year to promote high standards for the…
October 27
When settling in, home comes in small moments
Blue Hill, Brooklin rich in community components
Reflections is written by Island Institute Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working…
October 25
From here to there: why transportation matters
Island ferries face heightened cost pressures
The people who live on Maine’s 15 unbridged, year-round islands are inspiring and a model of resilience. Despite the many logistical and resource-based challenges they experience from living separated from…
October 25
When Vinalhaven had (lots of) fish
Warning about the future is couched in resilient history
When the Island Had Fish: The Remarkable Story of a Maine Fishing Community By Janna Malamud Smith (DownEast Books, 2023) I’ve been talking about When the Island Had Fish: The…
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.
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