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MCFA briefs Harpswell fisheries committee on working‑waterfront inventory; $9,000 available for local projects
Summary
MCFA presented a working‑waterfront inventory to document commercial fishing and aquaculture assets; committee members were told Harpswell may access $9,000 from the project for community projects and were invited to participate in mapping and outreach.
Emerson from MCFA presented a speed update on a working‑waterfront inventory designed to document commercial fishing and aquaculture assets and to support municipal planning and grant applications.
"It's essentially just a...comprehensive data set that is a tool that towns can use to take account of what they have in terms of working waterfront," Emerson said, explaining the inventory will combine data and community interviews to produce maps and a needs assessment.
Emerson said Harpswell is part of the project and that each participating community can access a small project allocation: "we have like $9,000 that every community that's a part of this project can use," she said, clarifying that the money cannot be used for infrastructure. Committee members discussed next steps: Darcy and Emerson will continue filling out town‑level data in the coming months, and committee volunteers were invited to help identify business owners and fishers to interview and to contribute legacy fishing areas for mapping.
Separately, the committee approved drafting a public notice to recruit fishermen to submit legacy fishing areas to the mapping effort and authorized two members to finalize the ad and submit it to the Anchor. Amelia will assist with GIS work while a committee member is away in January and February.
Members emphasized that the inventory can be used as a needs assessment to develop future projects or grant applications and to integrate working‑waterfront priorities into municipal planning.
