Project

South Portland Pier Aquaculture and Fishing Needs Assessment

Evaluating the needs of our local waterfront

The City of South Portland’s goal to revitalize the Portland Street Pier focuses on supporting the economic resiliency of local community members whose livelihoods depend on the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. The effort also hopes to support the current and future needs of aquaculture and commercial fishing industries at a time when commercial working waterfront facilities are dissipating. Our project conducted a needs assessment that provided the City with critical information to help guide them towards fully utilizing the pier in support of Portland Harbor’s commercial fishing and aquaculture businesses.

Project Goals:

  • Support development of a long-term strategic plan for the Portland Street Pier in support of Portland Harbor’s commercial fishing and aquaculture industries.
  • Help the City of South Portland as they work to understand how Casco Bay’s aquaculture and commercial fishing industries can most effectively revitalize the pier and adapt to future changes.
  • Support the broader community by identifying how current working waterfront infrastructure supports other community sectors' business operations.
  • Provide operational details of these businesses to help the City of South Portland understand how to maximize benefit for all sectors by carefully structuring pier configurations and services.

In 2017, our aquaculture program partnered with the City of South Portland and GEI Consultants to develop a master plan or long-term vision for the underutilized Portland Street Pier as a commercial fishing and aquaculture hub. We conducted a needs assessment of Portland Harbor’s aquaculture and commercial fishing industries to better understand who the most likely users are and how they might use the pier. Our research found potential for a mixed-use pier that supports both commercial fishing and aquaculture businesses because of shared infrastructure needs. The report also includes a comprehensive map and description of Portland Harbor’s working waterfront support infrastructure to help City officials understand what services are abundant or lacking.

South Portland Pier Aquaculture and Fishing Needs Assessment

Our project conducted a needs assessment that provided the City of South Portland with critical information to help guide them towards fully utilizing the Portland Street Pier in support of Portland Harbor’s commercial fishing and aquaculture businesses.

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