The Harpswell Select Board has unanimously endorsed the creation of a new town committee to advise local leaders on issues related to legacy fishing activities. Most of its members will come from Harpswell’s fishing community.
The Select Board approved the committee’s formation and mission statement at its meeting on Thursday, May 22. It will be known as the Fisheries Committee and will include seven members representing a broad spectrum of related interests.
According to its mission statement, the committee will be composed of one shellfish harvester, one lobsterman, one pelagic (open ocean) fisherman, one scalloper, one aquaculturist, one owner of a wharf or marine-related business, and one member of the town’s Harbor and Waterfront Committee.
Its mission statement begins, “The mission of the Fisheries Committee will be to provide a comprehensive understanding of legacy fishing activities that occur in Harpswell waters that will help the Town understand the impacts of projects proposed in both intertidal and subtidal waters.”
The committee’s activities will include reviewing the town’s Waters Classification Plan each year, advising on aquaculture and wharf proposals in historical fishing areas, supporting public outreach and education, partnering on events such as a local fisheries festival, and consulting on ordinance changes affecting Harpswell waters.
Select Board member Matt Gilley, a lobsterman, will serve as the board’s liaison to the committee. Gilley created the mission statement with help from town Harbormaster Paul Plummer.
