About Us
How We WorkWe Have Come Together to Address a Very Important Challenge
Downeast coastal communities of northeast of Maine are struggling. They have relied upon hard work and high-quality natural resources since before our country was founded. However, the Downeast natural resource economic base is not what it used to be.
Of its top three natural resource drivers, prices for its lumber and blueberries have fallen and many of the region’s
most important commercial and recreational fisheries have been in decline for decades. While the lobster fishery is still doing very well, accounting for 80% of the fisheries landings, the Downeast fisheries economy is both depressed and precariously balanced.
There is opportunity
With global demand for seafood high and projected to increase, and with cool, clean, waters fed by its winter snowpack and the cold coastal Labrador current, Downeast has the capacity to support a diverse set of highly productive, and highly valued fisheries.
Our Mission
On a mission to strengthen Downeast Maine communities by restoring a strong and resilient ecosystem and our regional fisheries economy.
What are we doing to address the challenge?
How We Work
A: Restore alewives and other river herring
- River Herring Network
- Fish Passage Restoration
- Orange River Fish Passage Restoration Live Cameras
- A Watershed Moment
B: Improve shellfish fisheries and the intertidal ecosystem
Shellfish Management & Research
C: Strengthen and restore accessible, resilient, & sustainable marine fisheries
D: Strengthen DFP’s capacity for collective action
Through shared positions
- River Herring Network
- Sea-Run Fisheries Monitoring Coordinator
- Convenings
Contact Downeast Fisheries Partnership
207-255-0983