Working Waterfront

The working waterfront threw me a lifeline

I didn’t come to Lincoln County looking to start over. I was already here. By early June of 2025, I had moved to Jefferson and begun building a life—writing, volunteering, settling into a rhythm. Three weeks after moving in with my partner, our relationship ended abruptly. Overnight, I was without… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

New Texas restaurant grows and sells Maine oysters

Buzz is growing about a new restaurant with photos on the wall of Maine and a raw bar that serves oysters from the Pine Tree State, including the occasional oyster from the restaurant’s own aquaculture farm. Such a restaurant may not seem unique in Bar Harbor or Portland, but it… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A new board game simulates lobstering in Penobscot Bay

Lobster fishing is a blend of strategy, hard work, and good fortune. The right gear, the right timing, and the right places to set strings of traps can be no match for the weather, or the whims of the market, but fisherfolk persevere, and often end a season in the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

‘Big Jim,’ an iconic Maine sign, finds temporary new home

Big Jim isn’t what he once was. At least for now. The iconic 40-foot tall sign that once welcomed visitors to Maine in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and later towered over the Stinson Canning plant in Prospect Harbor, is lying in a paint shed at Belmont Boatworks this… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Matinicus refreshes its power generation

Since summer 2025, Matinicus Island’s municipally owned electric utility has powered homes and businesses using a 160kW solar array, two new Perkins diesel generators, and a “hybrid supercapacitor” battery energy storage system. Matinicus, easily 20 miles offshore from Rockland, first offered grid-style electricity to homeowners in the mid-1960s, when our… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Cushing nears purchase of publicly accessible waterfront

Cushing is on track to buy one and a half acres along Pleasant Point Gut where local officials eventually hope to build a public boat ramp. Residents approved the purchase in March by a 211-81 vote, providing a strong mandate to continue with the project. If successful, it would create… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A sea captain gets her due

Mary Ann Brown Patten’s name didn’t make it into the title of Tilar Mazzeo’s book about her, The Sea Captain’s Wife, which I find a bit ironic given one of the author’s goals is to educate readers about the impressive achievements of a now-forgotten female sea captain. But also, perhaps… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

An old predator poses new threat to lobster

This article first appeared in UMaine News. It has been edited and condensed. Michelle Staudinger, associate professor of fisheries science, is leading a new study at the University of Maine to find out whether lobsters are being consumed by a long-known fish predator, cunner, in a new way. These small,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

UMaine gets new marine research vessel

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… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Maine lobster scientist Bob Steneck elected to National Academy

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 of coastal ecosystems. The academy announced on April 28 the election of 120 members and 25 international members, bringing its… SEE MORE