Maine's Working Waterfront
Working waterfront has always been a limited resource on the coast of Maine. With intensified gentrification, shifting marine resources, climate change, and amplified pressure on the fishermen and fishing businesses, the future of seafood-based working waterfront is more in jeopardy than ever.
MCFA works with fishermen, partners, and communities to build and deploy tools to better protect and invest in the crucial infrastructure Maine needs for fishing communities to thrive.
​WORKING WATERFRONT
is crucial for the blue economy.
We're focused on working waterfronts tied to seafood, fisheries, and community access.
Those most at risk of being lost in a place like Maine.
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Working Waterfront Inventory Report and Template
MCFA's Working Waterfront Inventory Report and Template is an easy to use tool for municipal planning and preservation of the Working Waterfront.
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Scuttlebutt: Harpswell A Guide to Living and Working In a Waterfront Community
A guide to provide insider information to those living and working in Harpswell in order to build shared values and community around the waterfront.
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Scuttlebutt: Brunswick A Guide to Living and Working Near the Water
A guide to provide insider information to those living and working in Brunswick in order to build shared values and community around the waterfront.
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Projects & Publications
The State of Maine's Working Waterfont
This report shares information accumulated from interviews, conversations, meetings, and research to help elevate the value and attention paid to working waterfronts for commercial fishing and provide suggestions for how to protect this valuable part Maine's food system and economy.
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Coastal Access Strategy Exchange
The Coastal Access Strategy Exchange or "C.A.S.E." started in 2023 under the leadership of a shellfish harvester and oyster farmer, Chris Warner. The novel, grassroots community of practice is now supported as an MCFA program to help develop working waterfront solutions.
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Working Waterfront Resource Guide
The Working Waterfront Guide is a living document, consistently updated by MCFA, that compiles resources available to help preserve, protect, and restore Maine’s coastal working waterfront access and infrastructure. Whether you're an individual, a business, an organization, or a municipality, there are resources available.
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Support Working Waterfronts
proactive, positive, and solution-based suggestions for a more vibrant and inclusive working waterfront in Maine
Celebrate the Uniqueness of Coastal Communites
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Create a Care & Maintenance Guide for waterfront Communities (Scuttlebutt: Harpswell Edition)
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Highlight preserved working waterfront properties
Measure, evaluate, document, repeat
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Keep up with changes on the waterfront with MCFA's Inventory Template
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Document evidence of changing oceans
Protect Vulnerable Infrastructure
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Explore funding opportunities to protect at-risk properties
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Think beyond the pier
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Refine the criteria, and prioritize intervention
Engage with the Community
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Recognize community culture (Host a working waterfront panel discussion with MCFA!)
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Work with neighbors for shared solutions
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Pool resources for effective action
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Respect everyone's access
