A crew member and passenger walk off the ferry to Islesboro.

Working Waterfront

Ferry service seeks do-over

By Tom Groening With the election of Gov. Janet Mills in November and the formation of a new administration, the Maine State Ferry Service will revisit the rates and fees it adopted last spring. But citing an ongoing lawsuit and mandated rulemaking timelines, a new rate structure could be proposed… SEE MORE

Tom Werner and his children on the Peaks Island shore

Working Waterfront

Fishing, islander family takes helm of Peaks restaurant

KELLI PARK Tom and Katie Werner and their children on the deck of what will be their new business on Peaks Island, the Island Lobster Company. Story and Photos by Kelli Park When it came time to sell their Peaks Island House Restaurant, Joe and Nancy Wright knew the… SEE MORE

The Independence under construction at Washburn & Doughty Associates in East Boothbay. From left are the CTC's Matt Ridgway

Working Waterfront

Chebeague Island to get new ferry

The Chebeague Transportation Company’s new ferry, scheduled for delivery by May 1, now has a name: Independence. A community-wide naming contest, which attracted 475 votes, chose the name from a short list of five. The ferry, now under construction at Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc., in East Boothbay, will replace the 34-year-old Islander, also… SEE MORE

A December evening image from Boothbay Harbor.

Working Waterfront

Boothbay Harbor debate misrepresented in newspaper’s coverage

By Patty Minerich The Working Waterfront’s analysis of Boothbay Harbor’s recent planning conflicts by Edgar Allen Beem (“The last fisherman?” February/March issue) fails to understand that the situation is more complicated than anyone who isn’t living it could believe. As one selectman said at a recent meeting, people aren’t lining up to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Bait shortage could hit lobster fishery hard

PEACH FREDERICK A bait bin being lifted at Rockland's Fish Pier. By Susie Arnold There is no question that herring is going to be in short supply in 2019 and the years to come. Based on the recent poor stock assessment of the Atlantic herring population, the New England Fisheries… SEE MORE

Rockland's Snow Marine Park on a spring morning.

Working Waterfront

Welcome home, Rockland

By David Wylie Down East magazine chose Rockland in 2018 as the best place to live in Maine. We have come a long way. From the plywood windows on Main Street of 25 years ago amid a stagnating fishing industry, Rockland has come into its own as a major tourist destination… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

How the community can respond to climate change

By Rob Snyder Communities are largely absent from national discussions of how to address climate change. Instead they are featured as victims. As a result, we are missing a major opportunity to navigate our way out of this crisis. National conversations highlight how the ocean is warming and becoming more… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Luke’s Lobster to enter Portland market

By Stephanie Bouchard In the last weeks of 2018, Luke’s Lobster, a restaurant group with Maine roots, announced it is opening its first Portland-based restaurant. It will be the second Luke’s Lobster restaurant in Maine. A restaurant in Tenants Harbor has been open seasonally since 2016. Co-founded by Luke Holden,… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Can both sides win in the battle over the waterfront?

By Tom Groening Now that I have six years under my belt here at the Island Institute, I’ve begun—cautiously—to accept a few speaking engagements, holding forth on the topic of the working waterfront. My presentation is very much a work in progress, and I begin by disclosing that I am… SEE MORE

An aerial view of the business location.

Working Waterfront

Vessel Services: Where fishing boats go to shop

By William Hall Despite its three-story ice-making plant at the seaward end of the Portland Fish Pier, Vessel Services Inc. is almost invisible to passers-by at the other end, along bustling Commercial Street. But for crews of the two dozen groundfishing craft and 100 or so lobster boats that operate… SEE MORE