The Maine Office of Community Affairs has named a 15-member advisory council to identify and seek solutions to challenges faced by Maine’s working waterfronts.
The council was established through legislation in June 2025 and is charged with submitting annual recommendations to the Legislature.
“With this remarkable group of Working Waterfront representatives and experts, we will find solutions to keep Maine’s marine industry and culture strong,” said Samantha Horn, director of the Maine Office of Community Affairs.
“Their range of expertise and the variety of regions they represent highlight the interdependence of community, industry and government in creating a vibrant future for Maine.”
State Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook, sponsored the legislation.
“I have heard time and again in my conversations with nonprofits, communities, fishermen and aquaculturists of the need for the state to center working waterfronts as a long-term priority,” he said.
The nonprofit Island Institute has reported that, while Maine has 5,300 miles of coastline, only 20 miles of it could be considered a working waterfront.
Rielly said the group will work with the governor’s office to advance initiatives that support working waterfronts.
“This will allow for consistency in crafting policy and will help center our working waterfronts as a strategic priority for the Legislature, instead of acting only when a crisis strikes,” he said.
The creation of the council follows investments by the Mills administration to increase resilience and protection of working waterfronts across the state, including $21.2 million in grants for 68 working waterfronts damaged by winter storms and a $69 million federal grant to protect Maine’s communities, environment and working waterfronts from extreme storms, flooding and rising sea levels.
The council will initially focus on issues related to flood insurance and financing, land use planning and permitting.
The group consists of 15 members representing a range of geographies and working waterfront sectors across the state. Membership will rotate every three years with initial staggered terms of one, two and three years.
The group’s first meeting will be a hybrid meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m. More information is available on the Working Waterfront Advisory Council webpage.