Working waterfront access continues to disappear in communities up and down the coast. The last private pier used for fishing access in Bar Harbor has been sold to a property developer. In East Boothbay, lobstermen were unsuccessful in purchasing a wharf to secure their access. A number of privately owned fishing access points in St. George have been listed on the real estate market including a lobster pound. The recently completed revaluation on Vinalhaven is likely to push many more fishing families off of the water.
A new study, “Tracking Commercial Fishing Access,” produced by Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) for the State Planning Office’s Coastal Program, suggests that the gap between the market value of working waterfronts and what can be financed by cooperatives and municipalities is likely to grow. The study indicates that midcoast Maine has the highest degree of vulnerability to waterfront access loss. Development pressure, competition with tourism and recreation and rising property values (an average of 58 percent coastwide between 2000 and 2004) are listed as the top causes of working waterfront loss.
A notable development over the past year has been the creation of the Working Waterfront Investment Initiative, an action group that provides financing, pre-development costs, business planning, publicity and legal advice to commercial fishermen. According to Elizabeth Sheehan and Hugh Cowperthwaite at CEI, technical assistance and funding have been provided to 18 projects seeking to improve access to the ocean. To date, the group has responded to over 40 inquiries.
Nevertheless, properties go on the market daily that, despite timely responses and heroic efforts, remain unattainable to even the best-financed fishing groups. Even with all the ingredients for a successful working waterfront purchase in place — an enthusiastic group of fishermen, potential for commercial bank, and/or private funding, town support, a good business case — the purchase price of a fishing property continues to be out of reach.
The Bar Harbor case (see Failure in Bar Harbor in the October 2004 WWF) highlights both the challenge and the solution to retaining access. There is very real and unbridgeable gap between the market demand for waterfront views and what fishermen can afford and/or finance to sustain their livelihoods. Recent experience dictates that this gap regularly runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Watching while dozens of working piers go to market at unattainable prices has led many to feel that the best solution to fill the gap would be the creation of a funding source to make up the difference. These funds would provide additional equity for fishing cooperatives and towns in crisis situations.
The Working Waterfront Coalition, a statewide advocacy group convened by the planning office’s Coastal Program, is working on a tool to address the investment gap. Discussion at a recent coalition meeting focused on the creation of a grant and investment program to support businesses and communities that are committed to securing the future access needs of their fishing industry. The coalition recognizes that in order for a grant and investment program to be helpful, it must be responsive to the speed of the real estate market and robust enough to support numerous six-figure waterfront purchases. The Coalition intends to reach out to farming and forestry groups to ensure that its approach complements similar efforts elsewhere in Maine.
The Working Waterfront Coalition has grown from twelve to over 100 members since its inception in March of 2003.
Robert Snyder is a member of the Working Waterfront Coalition. For further information on the Coalition, or to get involved, e-mail Snyder at the Island Institute, snyder@islandinsitute.org or Hugh Cowperthwaite, CEI, at hsc@ceimaine.org.