The old joke is that there are four seasons in Maine: almost winter, winter, still winter and construction. So as we approach the winter season when lobster traps and boats come ashore and lights become fewer and far between, we feel the pace of life shift to a different mode. We move indoors, physically and
Island voting: small numbers, diverse views
Islanders reflected Maine’s voting pattern as a whole on Election day, favoring John Kerry and the two incumbent congressmen but turning down the Palesky tax cap and the proposal to ban bear-baiting. The bear-baiting referendum passed in five island voting precincts, failed in seven and tied in one. President George W. Bush scored his sole
Islands Coalition
Given the difficulties island residents face when they have to get to an off-island meeting, it’s remarkable that the new Islands Coalition has been able to hold four meetings since it came into existence last spring. It’s also a testament to the tough issues these small communities face: the lack of affordable housing, unfair property
Kreps or Hummers? – Lobster-savvy Norwegians can choose between them
The morning wholesale fish market opens at 4 a.m., on the docks below Akershus Castle just a minute’s walk away from the Oslo City Hall. Here, owners of local fish markets buy what they hope they can sell in a day. By 8 o’clock, the dealing is over and fish that are promised to local
Imagining and Adapting
Maine boatbuilders are nothing if not adaptable. In fact many of them wouldn’t exist today had they not been able to change their methods from plank-on-frame to fiberglass to cold-molding to various other systems combining wood, metal and more exotic materials. So it’s not surprising to encounter one shop setting up aluminum frames designed on
Support grows for working waterfronts
Eight out of ten Mainers support the creation of a public investment program that would preserve critical access points, piers and wharves in Maine’s Working Waterfront communities. Maine’s Working Waterfront Coalition submitted questions to the Maine Survey, conducted annually by Maine based Market Decisions, to continue a line of questioning begun last year to gauge
Cod
The signs are there, along the western Maine coast at least: growing numbers of small cod in lobster traps, increasing trawl and gillnet catches in inshore waters, a steady number coming through the Portland Fish Exchange. To the east things aren’t as good, but even in Stonington, once the base of a large gillnet fishery,
“Not a Promotional Brochure” -Downeast towns confront “tension” between newcomers and working residents
Most of the scenes are foggy. The people pictured are hard at work. The text is straightforward: “this is not a promotional brochure … like songbirds, diesel engines all have their own unique sounds … a working waterfront … is not a place of manicured lawns and carefully landscaped gardens…” In eight color pages, the
Statistics and Politics
To the editor: Please note that the article by Nancy Griffin that mentions a 77 percent figure for pink salmon hatchery production is only for Prince William Sound. Statewide it is mostly wild production… As with any statistic or number used in the fishing industry, there are political ramifications. It is important to be accurate
Home on the Web
To the editor: I’m at college in Costa Rica right now and I just wanted to let you all know how much I love being able to check up on the Working Waterfront from all over the world. I just found my mom’s article [Karen Roberts Jackson on Vinalhaven’s old fire hall, Oct. 2004] and