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Development Approach to Fisheries and Maine’s Working Waterfront |
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The goal of CEI's Fisheries and Working Waterfront Projects is to foster the sustainable development of Maine's fisheries and fishing communities by making investments, initiating projects, supporting policies and assisting marine-related enterprises that: - Generate quality jobs
- Add value to marine resources
- Strengthen marine infrastructure
- Improve management of marine resources
- Reuse and/or recycle waste streams
For centuries, the working waterfront has been part and parcel of Maine's coastal communities. And yet today along the 5,300 miles of Maine's shorefront, you'll find only 25 miles still in service to our traditional fishing and marine industries. These 25 miles support 10,300 harvesters and 26,000 fishing-related jobs which generate $740 million income EACH year. Protecting the working waterfront is smart economic development as many vibrant components of our coastal communities are in danger of disappearing forever. Growing oceanside property values, property taxes, and equipment costs, as well as diminishing natural resources, make it more and more difficult every year for our marine business. Maine's commercial connection to the sea is a sound reason for communities to unite. Bankers and borrowers, local officials and business owners can attest to the impact of capital that the marine industries channel through to the local economy. Access to the water, well-maintained piers and equipment, wisely-managed marine resources, and adequately dredged berths are the keys to continuing that economic tide. CEI is creating change in this arena from our 3E perspective. CEI gives loans and business assistance to commercial fisherman and other marine-related businesses: "Economy". Borrowers of our loan funds are required to participate in research or management of the marine sciences and public health arenas for the term of their loan (our FISHTAG program): "Environment". Our policy work is bringing to the forefront the issues that marine businesses face, and new jobs are being added while the old ones are retained: "Equity". To date, CEI has made progress in all three categories. Economy - 183 loans
- $12.3 million lent and an additional $35.6 million leveraged
- Portfolio Composition: 49% harvesters, 13% processors, 9% shore side suppliers, 9% wholesale, 7% infrastructure, 13% new marine-related and aquaculture
Equity - Created over 1,300 full-time jobs, and 200 part-time jobs
- Involved 75 fishing men and women engaged in research
- Access secured for 165 boats in a working waterfront
Environment - 42 FISHTAG projects (Marine Science or Public Health Related research and management)
- 6 shoreside environmental projects
- Promoted environmental stewardship within the fishing industry
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CEI IN THE NEWS! |
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U.S. Finance Expert Encourages Banking Investment in Maine Communities
At CEI's 32nd Annual Meeting, Ellen Seidman, Exec. VP of ShoreBank in Chicago, and Sr. Research Fellow with the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, urged Maine bankers and community activists to consider “greater community investment…meeting the actual needs of the community, not just counting dollars invested.” See full speech.
See annual meeting remarks by Ron Phillips, CEO, on triple bottom line investing and the next 5 years for CEI…
See the 12/14/09 article on CEI and the state of investing in communities. It’s where mission happens… CEI Receives $125 Million in NMTC Through its subsidiary, CEI Capital Management LLC, CEI will use the allocation to attract private capital investments for primarily rural economic development projects. See press release here.
CEI Receives Investment Funds
In partnership with Manufacturers Association of Maine, CEI will receive $765,000 over from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), to finance several job-generating small-to-medium enterprises. This funding will create 78 full-time, year-round jobs. Read press release here. Bangor Savings Bank and CEI offer low-interest loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in disadvantaged areas in Maine. Read more here. |
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Working Waterfront Coalition |
Along the coast, high-priced homes are replacing buildings and piers that were once used to unload fish and lobsters. Of the 5,300 miles of shoreline in Maine, fewer than 25 miles remain open as working waterfront. Fishermen and shore side businesses from York to Eastport are finding it increasingly hard to do business because they can no longer access a path to the clam flats or rely on a place to store and repair their traps.
The Maine Working Waterfront Coalition (WWC), a statewide group of industry associations, nonprofits, state agencies, and concerned citizens, was formed to preserve this increasingly vulnerable asset. Over the past three years, the WWC has developed a public policy agenda and a "tool box" for municipalities, lawmakers, businesses, land trusts and others seeking to protect marine infrastructure and access to the water. As a founding member and coalition leader, CEI has been a driving force behind the coalition's growth. Now with over 140 members, the WWC is undertaking an ambitious plan to advocate at the state and local level for policies, planning practices and projects that will protect water access. Learn more about the Working Waterfront Coalition
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Philosophy and Programs 
