SEA Maine (Seafood Economic Accelerator for Maine) is pleased to award grants totaling $1 million to five marine community infrastructure projects through the Seafood Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (SIAF). The funds will help improve public marine facilities, help strengthen Maine’s seafood sector, and provide greater resilience to climate-related shocks.

“I’m pleased to see these projects benefit from SIAF funding and am optimistic that this funding will result in a stronger, more vibrant future for Maine’s commercially harvested and farmed seafood resources,” says Togue Brawn, co-chair, SEA Maine & Owner, Downeast Dayboat.

Grants ranging from $75,000 to $300,000 were awarded through a competitive process and will help fund a broad range of critical waterfront infrastructure:

Boothbay Harbor: Harbor Bait: Automated Salter and Upgraded High Producing Ice Machines - $193,406.80. Harbor Fish Pier. Installation of an automated bait salter and high-capacity flake ice machine will provide vital access to bait and ice for Maine’s commercial fishing industry.

Tremont: Tremont Cold Storage Facility Upgrade – $161,500. The project will retrofit a 1,200-square-foot town-owned building. Home to a local bait company as well as the Harbormaster, the building will be outfitted with insulation, weather-tight windows and doors, heat pumps, and electrical improvements. This work will thereby improve energy efficiency, resilience, cold-storage capacity, and year-round usability, while continuing to support working waterfront businesses and the seafood industry. 

Rockland: Rockland Commercial Fish Pier: Climate Resilience Assessment, Adaptation Planning, and Infrastructure Investment – $300,000. The City of Rockland’s two-phase project will strengthen seafood supply chain resilience at the Rockland Commercial Fish Pier, serving approximately 100 commercial fishing and seafood operations. In collaboration with fish pier users, Phase 1 will assess vulnerabilities, identify adaptation opportunities, develop a site adaptation plan, and complete engineering designs. Contingent on those findings, Phase 2 will carry out the priority improvements identified, and activate the resulting adaptation plan.

Town of Freeport: Town of Freeport Cove Road - Wharf Restoration and Commercial Float Replacement – $218,400 The Town of Freeport will replace deteriorating docks and floats at three locations along the Harraseeket River: Cove Road Wharf, the Commercial River Floats, and the Freeport Town Dock. The infrastructure supports 60+ municipal shellfish license holders, commercial fishermen, lobster and aquaculture gear storage, and temporary vessel berthing. Much of the existing infrastructure has deteriorated due to storm surge, sea level rise, age, and heavy commercial use. The project will replace the piers, gangway, and floats at all three sites.

Swan's Island:  Harbor Road Facility Upgrade - $126,693.20. The Town of Swan’s Island will renovate vacant space near Burnt Coat Harbor for dedicated Harbormaster and Shellfish Warden offices, supporting the island’s commercial fishing and working waterfront. Improvements include weatherization, a transition from fuel oil to heat pumps, and adding solar-powered cold storage for fishermen, clammers, and aquaculture operators. The project will strengthen working waterfront operations while adding climate-resilient, shared seafood infrastructure.

The SIAF program was developed based on the 2024 recommendations in the SEAMaine Roadmap. It is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC) awarded in Fall 2024 to the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF).

“SIAF is an important component of Maine’s $69 million Climate Resilience Regional Challenge Grant,” said Sarah Curran, director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF). “This unprecedented Federal grant is helping to strengthen resilience to climate effects, especially extreme storms like those that hit Maine in 2023 and 2024. The Seafood Infrastructure Adaptation Fund’s targeted investments are making the seafood sector more energy efficient and protecting its supply chains for the future, building essential resilience to economic and environmental shocks along the Maine coast.”

Community entities were invited to apply for grants to cover planning, engineering, retrofits, and/or design projects for construction on publicly owned land, tribal land, or land where a public entity holds a lease or easement that ensures public access. Eligible entities included municipal (county, state, tribal), nonprofits, business owners, private property owners, and educational organizations representing publicly owned infrastructure. Grantees will contribute a 5% match of the total project cost.

“The announcement of the projects funded through the Seafood Infrastructure Adaptation Fund could not be timelier, coming on the heels of Maine’s Blue Economy Week,” says Carl Wilson, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources (DMR). “It is a great example of how investments supporting commercial fishing and aquaculture at the local level can help ensure resilience and drive innovation that will shape the future of Maine’s coast. I appreciate the work done by SEAMaine and the Maine Development Foundation to guide this process and bring these worthy projects to fruition.”

“Investing in Maine’s working waterfront infrastructure is vital to the future of our seafood industry and the coastal communities that depend on it,” says U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). “These funding awards will support improvements to public marine facilities that will help Maine’s seafood sector better withstand disruptions and remain competitive for years to come.”

“For generations, the success and sustainability of Maine’s coastal communities have been at the center of our prosperity as a state. When our ‘Blue Economy’ grows and thrives, so does Maine,” says U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME). “Thanks to this new funding our local fishers and sea farmers will continue to expand economic opportunity, create good-paying jobs, and improve sustainability across Maine’s coastal communities - and be more able to handle any choppy waters they encounter. I am proud to continue our work securing this critical federal funding so that our coastal communities have safe, sound infrastructure that is necessary to continue their important work.”

“Maine’s working waterfronts are vital to our state’s economy, culture, and way of life. But aging infrastructure and increasingly severe storms—like the ones that ravaged so many coastal communities three years ago—are putting more and more pressure on our fishermen, lobstermen, aquaculture operators, and the many businesses that keep our waterfronts working,” says U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME). “These grants will help communities make much-needed investments in critical infrastructure so they can continue to provide the products, services, and good-paying jobs our state needs to thrive. I’m grateful to SEA Maine and its many partners for their unwavering dedication to Maine’s working waterfronts and coastal communities, and for helping ensure that Maine’s seafood economy remains strong and resilient for generations to come.”

“My district is home to thousands of hardworking men and women who power some of the most storied and successful fisheries in the world,” says U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME). “The families and communities that depend on them are worth supporting and protecting. That’s why I’m always pleased to see federal dollars such as these SIAF funds going to support worthwhile infrastructure investments in Maine’s marine resources economy. The funded projects in Tremont and Swan’s Island will help these two working waterfronts meet current and future needs so that fishermen can keep doing what they do best.”

MDF is proud to partner with SEA Maine (Seafood Economic Accelerator) and serve as the program manager for the initiative. The SEA Maine Steering Committee includes over 100 members from across Maine including industry, associations, nonprofits, academia, state agencies, and Maine's federal delegation. In addition to SIAF, SEAMaine is working on other strategies to grow the industry, including the establishment of a Maine Seafood Promotion Council.