Fishing, Aquaculture and Tourism?

Two No-Shows For Threesome

by Hillary Savage

It’s no surprise that tourism in Maine is becoming the main driver for economic development. It would make sense, then, to marry the growing business sector with the natural resource based economy that coastal Mainers have been using for generations. What were once working waterfronts are now becoming tourist attractions, and what have historically been waters used by fishermen, aquaculturalists are placing fish pens.

An industry workshop held in Machias last Thursday aimed at bringing together representatives from each sector, but leaned heavily toward tourism. About 27 people attended the Machias meeting, while two other meetings on the subject were hosted in Belfast and Portland the same week.

“Fishermen and farmers mesh well with tourism. They are assets to visitors,” said Natalie Springuel of Maine SeaGrant who was hosting the meeting.

Historically, however, fishermen and tourisms’ ideas haven’t meshed well with the vision of how the waterfront should be used. Few fishermen attended the meeting in Machias, as the majority of those who attended were tourism based.

The conversation narrowed in on what it would take for a fishermen to be licensed to give tours out of their vessels. This experiential aspect is a growing one in Maine’s tourism economy.

Maine SeaGrant, prior to the workshop had identified issues surrounding the legalities of running a tour on existing commercial boats as an important topic. This specialization was presented through Scott Gunst, an attorney with Reeves McEwing LLP from Pennsylvania, who explained to the crowd the different licenses, permits and insurances needed to start operating as a tour-giving vessel.

Gunst presented for an hour to the dozy crowd, discussing general marine law, Coast Guard vessel regulations, the Americans with Disabilities Act and general maritime law and liability. A full report on licenses, liabilities and insurances is available on the Maine SeaGrant website, and Gunst maintained that for those looking to start a tour business they would need to gather an attorney and an accountant and look at the costs regarding what you hope to do with said business.

Stephanie Alley from Islesford is one example of such a lateral business approach. Hearing from friends and family how much they enjoyed the experience of hauling traps with her, Alley started giving small tours as she hauled her 100 traps.

Alley taps into customers that for the most part are already visiting the island. “People are interested in learning a lot about the area that they’re visiting,” she said.

She admits that there are days when she wants to be hauling but has tours booked, then there are other days when she doesn’t want to haul and is waiting for a tour call.

“I can see why other lobstermen don’t want to do it,” she said. This tension was exemplified two summers ago when boat prices were at a low, and many boats around the island were sitting on their mooring. Alley was still giving tours, where she was hauling traps. She managed to give more of a tour-guided ride of the area to diffuse the situation.

The meeting lacked representation from the aquaculture industry and with limited resources and limited access, the competition between the industry sectors could heighten. Already, commercial fishermen are tasked with sharing waterfronts with tourism endeavors such as kayaking tours and whale watching. When brought up at Thursday’s workshop, Springuel simply stated, “It is definitely a point to be aware of.”

Harbor access is another concern, as large busses and RV’s are using the same restricted space as fishermen. Dana Morse of SeaGrant stated that it may be an opportunity for harbors to expand access.

Aquaculture tourism options seem to be centered around facility tours, where certain obvious bio-security needs are to be met, including posting signs and notices to visitors, maintaining visitor logs, the use of foot dip baths to disinfect shoes and avoiding direct contact with the crop. Sebastian Belle, of the Maine Aquaculture Association, though not at Machias’s meeting, said to the crowd in Belfast the previous night that aquaculture centers could become a hub from where tours could start.

Crystal Hitchings of the Washington County Council of Governments has been working closely with stakeholders in the Bold Coast Scenic Byway initiative, which puts a name to Washington County roadways. Hitchings’ ideas centered around such experiential opportunities as taking visitors to dig their own clams and have a clam bake.

Ensuring that visitors are in compliance with all state and federal laws would require a more structured experience, with many checks and regulations. The concern is that tourists may show up not knowing the laws and start harvesting something or somewhere that they shouldn’t be.

“Right now very few non-residents are showing up and harvesting clams,” said Downeast Marine Patrol officer Troy Dow.

The effort to gather the tourism sector when discussing coastal working waterfronts seems to be gaining more importance in the industry. Representatives from Downeast Acadia Regional Tourism (DART) were there, as well as Jen Peters of Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC). SCEC has recently begun a Commercial Fishermen’s Fund which is available for fishermen who are thinking about diversifying their business.

Ted Williston, a fishermen from Escuminac, NB stated that many of the campgrounds in New Brunswick are sending their visitors to the harbors. The biggest issue, so far, has been access, as many with RV’s try to park along the waterfront. Other coastal tourism efforts in Canada mimic those in the U.S., with whale watching tours and scenic kayak paddling.

To diversify income at a time that groundfish are nearly non-existent, and the lobstermen battle high fuel prices and low boat prices, more fishermen may be looking to give small boat tours from their vessels, and that is what those in this workshop had decided to focus on.

But is a fishery a fishery if it is relying on tourism and aquaculture to survive? Development options seem limited in the downeast region. “Once aquaculture and tourism are your options, you’re screwed,” said former fisherman Paul Molyneaux of East Machais.
Commercial fishermen, who have been using the waters for generations may have no desire to delve into giving tours, while tourism efforts striving to leverage the coastal beauty of Maine may be getting in the way of those fishermen trying to make a living out on the water.

“Ten or 15 years ago, you wouldn’t have been able to meet in the same room with the two sectors,” said Springuel at the close of the meeting. She hopes to host a follow-up at the Fishermen’s Forum in Rockland.