ROCKLAND, Maine — Marine construction companies are in the beginning of a long rebuild process along Maine's coastline after January's back-to-back storms destroyed critical infrastructure.
Companies have built up waitlists, with estimated wait times ranging anywhere from 18-24 months, a director with the Island Institute said.
Companies like Prock Marine Company have taken up emergency projects, in addition to their regularly scheduled jobs, to help working waterfronts recover. The company has about 50 jobs backlogged until next year.
"I bet we’ll be busy until the end of 2025 just fixing the storm damage from last month," Ken Knauer, a Prock Marine Co. project manager, said. "We have a long list to get to."
He said much of their current work is large, planned state projects, and fixing municipal-owned piers, so some of Maine's working waterfront has the infrastructure in place ahead of fishing season. The smaller-scale, privately owned wharfs will have longer wait times.
"The level of workforce that we're going to need to build, to not just where we were, but in preparation for future changes is significant," Sam Belknap, the Island Institute's Center for Marine Economy Director, said.
Belknap said last month's storms highlighted the urgent need to raise piers and wharfs feet above where they stand now.
"It concerns me deeply the changes and the rate of changes that we're seeing along the coast," he said. "It's critical we invest. It's just the scale of the investment this is going to take is the daunting challenge."
Among a plethora of challenges, ensuring privately-owned wharfs are as equally as supported as municipal piers will be critical, Belknap said.
"People need to fish in two months, three months," Belknap said. "Not having that access will ripple through Maine's coastal economy."
The Island Institute has several concerns over what climate change has in store for Maine, including its impact on preserving the state's working waterfront. Belknap said it's going to be a concern if working waterfront properties start going up for sale if owners can't afford to rebuild after storms.
"I think there's a lot of uncertainty on the coast right now, which is hard for folks to manage," he said.
The Island Institute is holding a series of webinars to discuss how to rebuild coastline infrastructure to withstand the effects of climate change. Click here to watch past webinars.