Island Voices> The beauty and difficulty of life on remote slips of land

ISLAND JOURNAL, The Annual Publication of the Island Institute, Vol. 13. Island Institute, Rockland. 96 pages. $14.95

Surrounded by water, often remote and windswept slips of land, islands have an allure for certain people.

Maybe it’s the timelessness of island life or the independent nature of islanders. As Sutton’s Island poet Rachel Field put it, “If once you have slept on an island you’ll never be quite the same.”

It’s island lovers, islanders and coastal inhabitants to whom Island Institute’s just-released Island Journal will largely appeal. Based in Rockland, the private, nonprofit organization produces a bound, glossy magazine every year. Islands and coastal issues are the underlying themes running through the handsome publication that has won wide-ranging awards, from the National Geographic Society to the Maine Graphic Arts Association.

For those already familiar with Island Journal, the 1996 edition is on a par with, if not finer than, the dozen previous volumes. First and foremost are Stonington artist Siri Beckman’s extraordinary woodcuts, Southern Island artist Jamie Wyeth’s vibrant oil paintings, century-old black-and-white pictures, and Island Institute Vice President Peter Ralston’s poignant, luminous photos. They visually lure and carry the reader through the 96-page publication.

The content of this year’s Island Journal is equally absorbing and well-written as past editions. The pieces vary widely in form and subject. For instance, there’s an account of Stonington fisherman Ted Ames’ project to map the Gulf of Maine’s historic cod spawning areas in light of the dramatic decline in groundfish stocks, and Maine novelist Elizabeth Ogilvie’s moving portrait of island life on Criehaven near Matinicus Island.

Of the 3,000 islands dotting the Maine coast, only 14 today are inhabited year round. A century ago, 300 boasted year-round communities. It was a period when coastal waters were Maine’s highway linking the state with the rest of the nation and world.

Since its founding in 1983, Island Institute has served as a catalyst for forging ties between Maine islands and helping their inhabitants deal with a scarcity of year-round jobs and other common problems.

Over the past decade, the Rockland-based group was instrumental in salvaging Swans Island’s salmon farm after it was seized by the bank. Under new ownership, that operation is thriving today. The group has helped Frenchboro bolster its dwindling population through a homesteading program. It is also helping Cranberry Isles’ residents grapple with a year-round housing shortage.

In addition, the institute has sought to preserve Maine’s coastal heritage, conceiving and winning legislative support for the Maine Lights Program. Under the program, about 33 lighthouses are being transferred to Maine towns and nonprofit organizations.

In recent years, the institute’s role and influence have expanded along the Maine coast and beyond. Its director, Philip Conkling, has written extensively about the herring industry and other Maine fisheries. He has been involved in the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ initiative to divide the coast into self-governed lobster management zones.

The institute’s expanding role and geographic reach are visible in the pages of this year’s Island Journal.

An in-depth article by University of Maine Professors James Wilson and James Acheson tells us how co-management of the lobster fishery has worked in Japan since the 18th century and in Norway since the 19th century.

Maine Natural Resource analyst Scott Dickerson succinctly informs readers about Stonington commercial fisherman Ted Ames’ ambitious project of mapping historic spawning grounds for cod and haddock in Maine’s inshore waters. Ames is Island Institute’s director of marine resources.

Ames has pinpointed areas by interviewing dozens of older fishermen who worked these waters when cod and haddock were plentiful.

Once it is completed, Ames’ map will enable state marine biologists to release into inshore waters juvenile cod and haddock being produced by two Maine salmon farms in a federally funded experimental project.

In a related story, Ames tells a suspenseful story about the “Great Machias Bay Cod Run” gleaned from his interview with retired Jonesport fisherman Roger Beal Sr. In the winter of 1941-42, large schools of giant codfish were discovered at the entrance of Machias Bay.

“As Roger watched the net loom into sight, it appeared large and luminous white, and he knew at once it was the reflection of more giant codfish being drawn from the depths toward the boat,” Ames writes. He quotes Roger exclaiming, “It looked like a big white ball coming! All you could see was a big white ball! And the whole net was filled from the cod end right to the mouth with those big codfish!”

Enhancing Ames’ story are Stonington artist Siri Beckman’s magnificent woodcuts. One depicts two fishermen astounded at the sight of their net bag packed solid with giant codfish. Another sets the scene at a wharf where a crowd of people are gaping at a dragger’s fish hold.

For those not interested in fish, there are nine other articles on diverse subjects. The topics range widely from Prince Edward Island resident Betsy Howatt’s bitter fight against the bridge being built to link the island with New Brunswick, to Surry author Susan Hand Shetterley’s essay on ravens handsomely illustrated by artist Jamie Wyeth’s oil paintings of ravens keeping watch on Monhegan’s snowy cliffs.

There is something for just about everybody in this year’s Island Journal. It’s definitely worth purchasing as a chronicle of past and present coastal life in Maine and beyond.

Island Journal is available at many magazine stands. The publication can also be acquired by contacting Island Institute at 410 Main St., Rockland 04841. (594-9209).