For the fishermen of Brooksville, Maine, the tides have dictated more than just the day’s catch, they have determined when they can even reach the water.
With more than 50 miles of coastline, the town faces the critical challenge of no reliable public access for commercial fishermen at low tide. Brooksville is between the towns of Castine, where Maine Maritime Academy resides, and Stonington, Maine.
For more than five years, officials in Brooksville have been working to change the access by dredging Betsy’s Cove, a project that has taken on a new sense of urgency since the temporary closure of a private marina in Buck’s Harbor last year. As Bangor Daily News reported, the closure served as a wake-up call for the town, highlighting the need for permanent, all-tide access. The following closest public options are in Stonington and Blue Hill, ten to twenty miles away, which is too far away for fishermen needing to launch and land efficiently.
“Fishing is a core part of the economics of Brooksville and the region, and it’s an important public good to make that possible,” Mark Shaughnessy, chair of the town’s harbor committee, told Bangor Daily News in an interview.
The town’s original plan was to seek help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but after realizing the cost—just a feasibility study would have been $600,000—with the town on the hook for half, Brooksville decided to take on the project itself.
The project proposal includes dredging a 65-foot wide by 1000-foot long channel with a 130-foot basin for turning. According to Bangor Daily News, the project would remove roughly 14,000 cubic yards of sand and silt, which would then be transported to Rockland by barge. Deepening Betsy’s Cove and adding a new pier would give fishermen 240-hour dock access to help them load and unload bait and their catch without fighting the tide.
Fishermen have often found themselves scrambling for space in the cove. The harbor master told The Ellsworth American last year, “It’s not uncommon to see dozens of fishermen trying to put out hundreds of traps at once. Some Brooksville lobstermen already operate from Deer Isle- Stonington, where all-tide access is available, but working out of another town isn’t an ideal situation.”
A lobsterman from Brooksville told buyer Greenhead Lobster in Stonington that they travel to Stonington daily for bait and fuel and to ensure they had a buyer for their catch. They also mentioned that Buck’s Harbor, where Betsy’s Cove is located, has become less viable for fishermen over the years due to a lack of steady buyers and deep-water access.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources is now accepting public comments on the dredging proposal, making Brooksville one step closer to securing the access its fishermen need. The project is expected to take at least two years, with planning costs covered by mooring fees. If town voters approve, funding would likely come from grants and taxpayer dollars.
