Stonington — The Stonington Economic Development Council (SEDC) and the Deer-Isle Stonington Chamber of Commerce have announced a special business breakfast for Friday, September 9. On the 23rd at 8am on the second floor of Stonington City Hall.
It will be an in-person meeting hosted by Camoin Associates, with which the town recently contracted an economic impact study to build economic resilience in its changing fisheries and communities.
Stonington’s lobster fishery is the largest in Maine, generating approximately $60 million in economic activity annually. Lobster fishermen were hit twice during the week of Labor Day, losing a second key legal battle over the scope and timeline of whale regulations, before lobster was listed as “unsustainable seafood” by Seafood Watch.
“As a town, we have been working hard to prepare for and prepare for the transformation of this industry, thereby preparing our local economy for the year,” said town manager Kathryn Billings. “We’ve been planning for this study for several months, and it’s a shame to say it’s more important now than ever, because change is coming sooner than we expected.”
Camoin Associates will use the breakfast to gather community data and incorporate various business voices in the economic impact study and make recommendations for action as part of the study.
As the author of Island Workforce Housing’s 2019 Housing Needs Analysis and Assessment, Camoin Associates is familiar with island communities. Headquartered in Saratoga Springs, NY with a team of 24 including individual advisors in Maine and across the country, the firm has been a leader in economic development services for over two decades , “Empowering communities through powerful analytics-based human connections.” Its services include industry and workforce analytics, business attractiveness and retention, entrepreneurship and innovation, and impact analytics.
Doors open at 7:30am and a buffet breakfast will be served, including coffee and items from local restaurants and suppliers. The program starts at 8 and will run for one hour.