A fishing industry advocate writes that in the age of COVID-19, Maine cannot afford to disregard development projects that cultivate tourism.
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In 1995, I founded the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (www.NamaNet.org) to advocate for commercial fishermen. I learned quickly that fishermen fiercely resist change, and non-fishermen sometimes borrow fishermen as props in political dramas.
Last year, lawyers, lobbyists and special interests enlisted fishermen to kill a hotel proposal that would have generated $2 million for upgrades to Portland’s working waterfront.
The project also would have extended electricity and water to Widgery Wharf for commercial fishing boats docked there. A Maine Sustainable Seafood Center would demonstrate processing of seafood landed by local fishermen. A coastal culinary academy and an R&D kitchen would celebrate our catches. The project planned direct, personalized promotion to honor Maine fishermen, their boats and their products. In summary, it encouraged innovation to make Portland’s working waterfront a world-famous destination for children, tourists, chefs and journalists.
The demon invoked to kill those ideas was tourism. Yes, we had too many tourists, those irritating people who busy our streets and buy lots of seafood. Lawyers, lobbyists and special interests triumphed, and profited.
Fast forward one year, to the pandemic. The innovative marketing ideas floated last year are dead and buried, and the waterfront parcel proposed for those innovations languishes as an asphalt lot for parking cars. A recent New York Times article quoted a Maine lobsterman on the fishing season, “the worst it’s ever been,” and summarized the problem succinctly: “Too many lobsters and not enough people to eat them.”
Now is the perfect opportunity to reconsider open contempt for tourists, and the millions they spend buying fresh seafood and supporting local businesses. I believe a Maine boat’s catch is the finest in the world. I also believe commercial fishermen and lobstermen can warm up to customers who buy their products. Change is possible, and often a very good thing. I remain an optimist.
Craig Pendleton
Old Orchard Beach
