MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 5, 2021
Maine’s lobster industry is valued at $1 billion a year. It is followed by Maine’s wild-caught and farmed fish landings, which are estimated to bring in another $500 million a year. And that does not capture the money spent by tourists, who are attracted to coastal towns. But despite the value of the working waterfront, little is in place to protect it. Unlike the land preservation movement, which has leveraged tax breaks, public money and philanthropic contributions to maintain public enjoyment of unique places, waterfronts are mostly owned privately and subject to commercial pressures the owners can’t control. Eighty-four land trusts in the state preserve land for recreational use, but not one entity in Maine is devoted solely to the preservation of the working waterfront. The working waterfront has been an important part of Maine’s past, but we can’t assume that it will be part of our future if we don’t act now.