Coastal Enterprises - Waterfront and Fisheries Loans

CEI is committed to working with members of the community to preserve Maine's traditional fisheries and marine-related businesses which have been an integral part of Maine's coastal economy for generations.

CEI offers below market rate loans to Maine fishermen, shellfish growers and waterfront businesses that maintain commercial fishing access or that provide marine-related goods and services.

Recent waterfront and marine business loans have been used to purchase fishing boats and equipment, to establish a mussel aquaculture business, to purchase equipment for a marine services business, for boat building and repair operations, and for municipal and private pier replacement.

Fisheries borrowers are expected to participate in a FISHTAG project; this is an agreement that commits the borrower to contribute scarce biological data to a management effort. CEI helps to coordinate the FISHTAG project, by bridging the gap between fishermen and scientists. The goal of this is to engage the fishermen in the management of the fisheries upon which their livelihoods depend through monitoring and data collection.

fish catch data collection for the scientific community
a shoreside business may choose to conduct an energy audit or purchase a more efficient piece of equipment
a project that addresses a process, material or practice that has an environmental benefit (i.e. installing solar panels for electricity generation or a sewage pumpout station for cleaner water)

The Loan Department partners with the CEI Fisheries and Working Waterfront Project Staff on each waterfront and marine business loan application. Soon after the CEI loan department receives your loan request, you will be contacted by a fisheries staff member to talk about your business, and to talk about FISHTAG/Shoreside FISHTAG, and an appropriate research project or improvement that fits your work.

The CEI Fisheries Project Staff also reviews your application and makes recommendations to the Loan Department regarding the technical aspects of your business, such as:

Loan fund eligibility
Compliance with State regulations
Review the market that your business will address
Review the projections and the overall viability of your business plan.

The loan officer and the fisheries project staff member will be in contact with you throughout the application process. The decision process can take approximately 2-4 weeks depending on the complexity of the transaction.

Find out more about CEI's Waterfront and Marine-Related Services

» Program Philosophy

» The FISHTAG

» Marine Policy and Research

» Financing

» Business Assistance

CEI IN THE NEWS!

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.

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