The release of a new book of maps of Maine’s working waterfronts was announced at a news conference in South Freeport where supporters of the campaign for passage of Questions 5 and 7 on the November ballot spoke about the need to protect Maine’s working waterfronts.
“Maine’s coastal economy and fishing heritage are under threat as never before,” said Rob Snyder, the Institute’s Vice President for Programs. “By the best estimate available, only 25 miles of Maine’s 5,300-mile shoreline-four-hundredths of one percent-are devoted to commercial, water-related activities.” Of this fraction, only a little over one-third is actually zoned for such uses, or for public access. The rest is vulnerable to conversion to other uses. “The bottom line is that most of the real estate supporting tens of thousands of waterfront jobs in Maine is not secure,” Snyder noted.