Abstract
Project title: “Assessing Social, Cultural, and Economic impacts of Floating Offshore Wind on Maine’s
Fishing Communities: Baseline Offshore Wind Livelihood Impact Needs Exploration (BOWLINE)”
Presenters: Dr. Kanae Tokunaga (Gulf of Maine Research Institute [GMRI]) and Chas Van Damme (GMRI)
Timeline: Fall 2025-Fall 2026
Dr. Kanae Tokunaga began by identifying the study’s primary objective to conduct baseline assessment
of potential social, economic, and cultural impacts of floating offshore wind development on Maine’s
fishing communities. She explained that the economic assessment will rely on a modeling approach
developed by Livermore & Guilfoos (2024) — the latter of whom is a subcontractor on this project – to
evaluate potential on-the-water impacts, such as spatio-temporal distribution of fishing efforts and
associated landings values. The economic assessment will also consider potential shoreside impacts, with particular focus on local employment and wage multipliers. The sociocultural assessment, led by
Dr. Christine Beitl (University of Maine [UMaine]), will measure on the water impacts by collecting
“stories from the sea” to explore connections between offshore fishing grounds and onshore communities. Dr. Beitl and her team will also gather ethnographic data and conduct a comparative case study of select communities to anticipate positive and negative shoreside impacts.
Chas Van Damme (GMRI) noted that, to ensure industry perspectives and local knowledge are reflected
in this work, the project will engage a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) to provide guidance, review
methodologies, and serve as a conduit for broader engagement. In addition to ongoing engagement
opportunities throughout the project, the PAC will also be invited to participate in two workshops
planned for late 2025 and early-to-mid 2026. The initial workshop will be aimed at building stakeholder understanding of study approaches and assumptions and initial scenario development. Project findings will be shared at the second workshop, during which the PAC will be invited to discuss scenario assumptions and provide feedback on the findings. All fishing industry-representing members of the Research Consortium AB have been invited to the PAC, which is expected to be finalized by the end of October 2025. Chas Van Damme (GMRI), Hannah MacDonald (GMRI), and Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association (MCFA) will support coordination with the PAC and all other engagement aspects of this work.