THE FRIENDS OF EASTERN BAY
is a group of landholders, lobsterman, business owners, and recreational users dedicated to protecting the health, beauty and historic accessibility of Eastern Bay and the waters surrounding Mount Desert Island, the home of Acadia National Park. Guided by science, we seek common-sense solutions in addressing the growing pressures of development on our marine environment. We are working together to sustain livelihoods for our local fishermen, to support recreational activities and keep navigational channels clear of obstructions, and preserve the essence of Maine’s character.
We are aware of the accelerating number of aquaculture lease applications submitted to the Maine Department of Marine Resources each year (GRAPH HERE) and the lack of a comprehensive management plan to address the cumulative impacts of these leases on a given bay.
Our goal is to support the people who live and work in the greater Mount Desert Island area and who, for generations, have contributed to the growing economy while striving to preserve the ecology of Mount Desert Island and its waters.
We recognize that progress is essential to our economic well-being as a community, yet we are concerned that inappropriately large industrial developments will strain the local marine eco-systems. Projects of such an invasive scale would be detrimental to all our citizens and seasonal visitors while profiting only a small group of commercial developers.
Eastern Bay is a pristine and small body of water. The damage of an out-sized commercial construction will remain long after the companies have left and the profits have been taken. The burden of that damage will be left to those who live here, make their livings here, and to succeeding generations who will never experience the beautiful bay as we know it today. Mainers have taken on the challenges of land conservation with great passion and impressive success. Why would we not take the same comprehensive approach with the ocean?
WE CALL ON EVERY CITIZEN OF THIS PART OF THE WORLD:
To carefully examine the proposals being made to create industrial-scale shell and finfish aquaculture operations in our local waters
To scrutinize the qualifications, reputation and record of the entities applying for permits to install industrial-scale aquaculture installations.
To evaluate, fairly and honestly, the benefits that such developments may provide to our communities, what the environmental risks of any such benefits are, and what long-term issues, beyond what the developers claim, might adversely impact the marine eco-systems in Eastern Bay, and indeed all Maine waters, for decades to come.
Our grass roots organization is committed to rigorous evaluations of the proposed developments in Eastern and Frenchman’s Bay. We seek to gather impartial and sound scientific review and provide it to the public. Our community must have all the facts to make a sensible judgment for the future of these waters.
PLEASE JOIN US!
Sincerely,
Friends of Eastern Bay