The Last 20 Miles

The report paints a sobering picture of Maine’s working waterfront. Its key finding: that only 20 miles (not 25, as has been widely reported for several years) of the state’s 5,300-mile coastline remain as working-waterfront access. Even more alarming is that more than half (55%) of those 20 miles are privately held properties where access is restricted and requires owner permission to use. These privately held access points are extremely vulnerable to sale for non-fishing-related uses.It represents the first time Maine’s coast has been mapped with the explicit intention of identifying working waterfront as a land use.