Fishermen in Down East Maine start work before dawn now that the days are shorter. That means revving up a pickup to drive to the dock and starting up a diesel or outboard on the boat. It can mean a lot of early-morning noise. Some non-fishermen don’t like it at all. The result can be community tension and in some cases calls for an anti-noise ordinance.

A group in the Beals-Jonesport area decided to explain the Down East Maine way of life, especially life on the working waterfront, to newcomers to the community. The result was an eight-page leaflet just published with the support of the Washington County Council of Governments. It is titled “Moosebec: the Downeast fishing community of Beals and Jonesport. A Working Waterfront for over 200 years facing the changes of the next century.”

The leaflet starts off with the headline: “This is no a promotional brochure.” It begins: “Skyrocketing real estate prices tell us what we already know: This idyllic part of the coast has been found, and change is upon us… This brochure seeks to develop constructive relations to work out our differences in a direct and respectful way.”

The text appeals to the five senses:

Sounds: “Like songbirds, diesel engines all have their own unique sounds,” like the high whine of a Detroit or the low rumble of a Caterpillar.

Sights: Instead of manicured lawns and landscaped gardens, fishermen leave a lot of traps, engines and fishing gear lying around. And costly shorefront homes may have clam and worm diggers out in front working the flats when the tide is out.

Smells: Besides the aroma of spruce and fir, the breezes also waft the smell of bait, fish waste and diesel fumes, reminders of the working community that is getting a product to market and putting food on the table.

Touch: Unlike the travel advertisements with their invariably paved roads, the graveled rural roads, while causing cracked windshields and wheel misalignments, reflect tough decisions of town managers, who sometimes must choose gravel roads, part-time police protection and “pay-as-you-throw” instead of garbage pickup.

Taste: “The tang of the salt air reaches your lips as you comb the beach for shells, but if you do not conserve fresh water, salt water will be pouring from your tap as well.” Shallow coastal aquifers cannot sustain “suburban lawns, daily car washes or other luxury practices.”

Judy East of the Council of Governments, who led in preparing the leaflet, says it has been generally well received in the community. Copies circulated to other coastal towns have sparked interest in similar efforts.

Paul Iossa, a real estate agent in Jonesport, disagrees. He says the leaflet was a waste of money, since most people “from away” know what they are getting into when they settle in a Down East waterfront community. He says he finds the predawn roar of a fishing boat invigorating.

But in any town, a few complainers can try to remake the community to look more like what they left behind. A few can thoughtlessly risk the water table by putting in lawn sprinkler systems. The Moosebec leaflet is a good start at easing an occasionally uneasy relationship between native Mainers and newcomers from away.

Still, it might help matters if a lobsterman would get a new muffler for his boat.