Waypoints: Livelihoods

There are 120 communities included in these data—105 coastal and 15 unbridged, year-round islands—with 454,000 people living in these communities.

A Tale of Two Coasts

With more than 3,500 miles of coastline there is broad variability in the size of communities. Two-thirds of the coastal population lives around the Portland region and south; the other third is spread sparsely along the rest of the coast, down long peninsulas and on islands. The varying distances to service-center hubs prove costly for many residents. The smaller communities often have difficulty supporting quality essential services like childcare, eldercare, healthcare, and local economic development.

Why is this important?

The size of communities impacts how well residents are supported in their ability to make a living. Smaller communities have human and financial challenges that can limit investments in local infrastructure or economic development projects. It can be difficult for small communities to change these dynamics themselves and challenging for private sector companies that provide economic development services (e.g., broadband internet) to construct business models that work in small, remote locations.

Almost a quarter of coastal Mainers work in education or heathcare, about the same as the national average. Beyond this cluster, coastal Mainers are primarily drawn to retail, manufacturing, arts, recreation, tourism or professional service jobs.

Many coastal towns are economically buoyed by the tightly coupled segments of finance, retail, arts, and tourism. Although the boost is typically seasonal, these segments are anchors for service-area hubs.

The coast and islands generally have a high level of workforce participation, but it is heavily part-time and seasonal.

Why is this important?

Self-employed, seasonal workers are the key drivers of Maine’s coastal economic activity. Individuals and families often lack the financial stability offered by full-time employment benefits and are more likely challenged with healthcare and insurance needs. The income variability in fishing and other natural resource-dependent jobs, and the high cost of living on the islands, can greatly impact a family’s ability to make a living.

The smallest communities on the coast and islands have extraordinarily high levels of self-employment compared to the state and nation.

“There is a strange paradox about living here. Despite limitations, I get the sense anything is possible.”
— Kaitlyn Duggan, Little Cranberry Island

The lobster supply chain contributes $1 billion to the Maine economy each year producing 4,000+ associated jobs on land, and 6,000 jobs on the water. In 2017, the total value of lobster landings decreased to $433 million, representing an 18.6% drop in value from 2016.

Although landings have increased for the last decade, year to year variability of the fishery has broad economic impacts across the state.

In the 120 coastal and island communities, the total value of lobster landings reported was $467 million for 2016 and $433 Million for 2017.

LOBSTER LICENSES

Lobster licenses are held in every island & coastal community.

In almost half of coastal communities, at least 5% of residents hold commercial lobster licences.

There has been an increase of 735 licenses, or 15% growth since 2015. An estimated 3,262 are active licenses responsible for as many as 6,000 jobs on the water.

Young people are still entering the lobster fishery despite volatility in landings and value.

Populations on the coast and islands skew slightly older than the state overall and have higher educational levels, but there is much variability along the coast. The largest coastal communities, which are almost all in southern Maine, are younger and have higher educational levels than the rest of the island and coastal communities.