The Role of Tourism in Fisheries Crises: The Case of Newfoundland and Applications to Maine

Tourism is increasingly touted as a development opportunity for coastal and rural areas affected by natural resource decline. As commercial fisheries face depletion the world over, people look to tourism to help coastal communities recover from economic crisis, but little work has been done to explore if the investment in tourism can ever replace the full human ecological value of the fishery, including its impacts on a region’s culture, economy, and environment.

One of the first questions that prospective shellfish growers ask is:

"What do I need to do, for permitting and licensing?" 

Permitting is an important topic.  Whether your talking about a small operation to grow some oysters for yourself and your friends, or 50 acres of mussel longline, you'd be well advised to be thinking about permitting right from an early stage.

Tourism and the shellfish industry are both integral components of the Maine economy and way of life. Yet elevated fecal bacteria levels in coastal waters may pose a human health risk, leading to closures of valued beaches and shellfish growing areas.