Working Waterfront

Alcohol and fishing don’t have to be partners

Fishermen have long been stereotyped as heavy drinkers, a perception reinforced in media, pop culture, and even within their own communities. This assumption creates a damaging cycle. When people expect fishermen to drink, it normalizes excessive alcohol use... SEE MORE

The approach the ferry service takes to the Fox Islands Thorofare. FILE PHOTO: TOM GROENING

Working Waterfront

Coast Guard in the fog over buoys

In an apparent effort to demonstrate that it takes the Trump administration’s war on “fraud, waste, and abuse” seriously, the U.S. Coast Guard plans to discontinue—remove—more than 150 buoys and other aids to navigation, such as fixed “daybeacons,” from Maine’s coastal waters. The Coast Guard’s stated rationale for the planned… SEE MORE

Where To?, by Rebecca Goodale and Arlene Morris, 2024, edition of five, 17 x 15 x 2¼ inches. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARTISTS

Working Waterfront

Rebecca Goodale, Arlene Morris ‘build’ a clam shack

Goodale and Morris invite the reader to assemble the panels “to create a specific place during this climate crisis.” The panels can be arranged, they note, “to suit [the reader’s] aesthetic preferences..." SEE MORE

Jeff Frank speaks at the Maine Fishermen's Forum. PHOTO: JACK SULLIVAN

Working Waterfront

Jeff Frank and the ‘Future of Fishing’

Name: Jeff Frank Title: Senior community development officer in Island Institute’s Center for Marine Economy Focus: I lead the business support work for the Future of Fishing program. This initiative is designed to help Maine’s fishing families and coastal communities navigate the economic uncertainty facing the lobster industry. My work… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A letter from an island in winter

Dear friend—How was your winter? It wasn’t too bad staying here on the island, but February was kind of rough. Days and days of temperatures below 20 degrees and a lot of wind. Ferries seemed to be canceled one or two days every week. That was hard on everyone; both… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

What sports should be

Over my two decades at North Haven Community School, I've developed a fondness for basketball. Not televised basketball (although I, too, was swept up in the women's NCAA excitement last year) or any basketball where I haven't known the players since birth, or at least kindergarten. Just the North Haven… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Imagine island EMS at night… without the ferry

You’re cold, you’re uncomfortable, and you’re frightened. While the EMTs have been performing their assessments and interventions, the driver has been trying to arrange transportation. It’s essential that you are taken to a hospital for imaging as quickly as possible. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Twice to the island for Jon Bolduc

Islesboro has a personal and professional hold on Jon Bolduc, and for good reason, as he explains. Bolduc, 31, moved with his family to the Penobscot Bay island when he was a child. “My mom and dad were both teachers,” he explains. “They got positions the same year,” at the… SEE MORE

David Lunt in his later years. PHOTO: NICOLE WOLF

Working Waterfront

Remembering David Lunt, my father

He was blessed with a sharp mind and operated on instinct (he was not fond of “process”) to help pull his hometown into a more modern world. And he worked tirelessly with state agencies and organizations, such as Island Institute, to push new ideas in a constant struggle to keep it alive. SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A YEAR LATER—Waterfront business owners reflect on storms

“That afternoon, all the fishermen showed up to help,” Chipman recalled, a theme among the panelists, crediting the larger community with assisting in stabilizing the properties. SEE MORE