Big plans for Portland, Maine waterfront

December 28, 2017
By Liza Mayer

Plans to transform the city-owned Portland Street Pier in Portland, Maine into an incubator for aquaculture enterprises in Casco Bay are advancing.

City officials are beginning with a feasibility study — in cooperation with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute — that will gauge interest in an improved working waterfront.

“We need to be very sure of the interest that exists now and the demand that might exist in the future,” Assistant City Manager Joshua Reny told Press Herald.

Preliminary report identified six state-licensed commercial aquaculture leases within 10 miles of the pier, in addition to the 50 experimental or limited-purpose aquaculture sites.

The resulting pier master plan, including a needs assessment for aquaculture and fisheries by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, is expected to be completed in June.

Redevelopment plan seeks to transform municipal pier into incubator for aquaculture enterprises