CEI's Fisheries research and policy development is focused on tracking sector trends, quantifying social, environmental and economic impacts, identifying new marine-related industry opportunities, creating educational and market promotion materials and engaging in legislative policy development to support Maine's fishing communities. To this end, we conduct strategic assessments and collaborate on feasibility projects that promote and benefit opportunities for Maine's fishing fleet and coastal communities.

Research & Reports

"Beyond Waste: Navigating Seafood Byproducts in the Northeast." In 1998, CEI began searching for seafood byproduct markets and surveying Portland-based processors to better define the availability of marine "waste" for byproduct markets. In collaboration with Dr. Susan Goldhor of the Center for Applied Regional Studies, we submitted a proposal entitled "Maximizing the Value of the Northeast's Maine Harvest: A Resource Guide to Secondary and Byproduct Markets." Over the next year, our team investigated domestic and export markets for secondary products/byproducts typically harvested in the Northeast. This effort resulted in the 2000 publication of "Beyond Waste: Navigating Seafood Byproducts in the Northeast." A copy can be downloaded here.

"Preserving Commercial Fishing Access: A Study of Working Waterfronts in 25 Maine Communities." (2002): CEI was contracted by the Maine State Planning Office to assess the status of commercial fishing access along the Maine coast and to make recommendations regarding the monitoring of this issue in the future. A questionnaire was designed to gather recent data from a sample population of 25 coastal towns from Kittery to Eastport. CEI Fisheries program staff conducted one interview with each town's team of representatives - town managers, harbormasters, harbor committee members, and commercial fishermen. All responses to the questionnaire were entered into a database that was then used as a tool to analyze trends and areas of concern across the state. The report, which includes sections on methodology, findings, recommendations, and an analysis of trends, can be downloaded here.

"Tracking Commercial Fishing Access: A Survey of Harbormasters in 25 Maine Coastal Communities." (2004): CEI was again contracted by the Maine State Planning Office Coastal Program to assess the status of commercial fishing access in the same 25 communities as the 2002 study. Through interviews with harbormasters we were able to track changes since the first study. The final report includes overall trends found along the Maine coast and allows readers to compare side-by-side change over time in each community. CEI helped develop a monitoring system for commercial fishing access and will likely repeat the survey every 2 years. A copy of the report can be downloaded here.

"The Contribution of Working Waterfronts to the Maine Economy." (2004) by Charles S. Colgan. Maine's Working Waterfront Coalition, with support from Farm Credit of Maine, ASA, the Island Foundation and CEI contracted with economist Charles Colgan to investigate the economic impact of Maine's working waterfront activities. A copy of the study can be downloaded here.

"Market Decisions - The Maine Survey." (2003 & 2004) Maine's Working Waterfront Coalition formulated and submitted questions to Market Decisions for their annual telephone survey about the importance of Maine's Working Waterfront. The 2003 survey and results can be downloaded here. The 2004 survey and results can be downloaded here.

Summaries of the FISHTAG Program can be found here. There are two reports: June 2003 can be downloaded here and the July 2004 report can be downloaded here.