Working Waterfront

Our ocean’s troubling plastic problem

As I stood on the Rockland breakwater, trying to pry a piece of Styrofoam from between two boulders, my Island Institute co-workers scoured the beach, picking up trash as part of the Maine Coastal Cleanup Program. With teamwork, we finally freed that stubborn piece of plastic and I felt a… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Ocean, land, and temperature change

To grasp how the ocean affects these patterns, we need to explore its key processes: heat distribution, ocean currents, and ocean-atmosphere interactions. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Strategies for a climate-ready coast

For Maine’s rocky shores, offshore seaweed habitats and oyster reefs can effectively reduce wave energy. Restored kelp forests in Norway have cut wave height by up to 50% and wave energy by 70-80%, enhancing shoreline stability. SEE MORE

Fishermen return to the dock in Belfast after catching menhaden, also known as pogies. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Small fish, big role

In 2021, Maine’s commercial harvesters landed 22.1 million pounds valued at $9.5 million (Maine Department of Marine Resources data). SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Hope: A framework for climate action

Hope is a framework for action. There is a great distinction between hoping (which is all about action) and wishing (which is passive, having a desire but believing there is nothing we can do). SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The importance of measuring greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gas assessments provide measurable evidence to show consumers environmentally friendly practices. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Unhealthy progression: algae, bacteria, and hypoxia

Fishermen love their coffee, but they don’t want the ocean to look like it! Last summer, that is just what the ocean looked like across the Gulf of Maine, from Penobscot Bay to Martha's Vineyard. The brown water was the result of a massive bloom of microscopic algae (otherwise known… SEE MORE

King tide, as documented in coastal New Hampshire.

Working Waterfront

Look to nature to manage rising seas

As we all are painfully aware after January’s damaging coastal storms, our shores are vulnerable to flooding and, unfortunately, climate scientists are warning that these events are becoming more common as sea levels rise. As daunting as this might feel, we can act now to reduce our vulnerability. The solutions… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The story of the forgotten sea mink

A group scientists and community members supported by the National Science Foundation are working to understand the role the sea mink played in Maine... SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Community connections often rely on internet

It’s not your grandmother simply knowing how to hop on Facebook to swap recipes, it’s her being able to create a health profile and schedule... SEE MORE