September 27th, 2016 — Maine’s opportunities in the Arctic and North Atlantic are real and exist today.

Communities in the North Atlantic share many economic and cultural similarities. The same fish species that have been harvested for centuries in the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine, such as cod and haddock, sustain commercial fisheries throughout the region. While the geography is vast, communities are small, leading to a common business culture that relies heavily on personal interaction and trust.

Maine’s opportunities in this region are not dependent on the demise of Arctic sea ice, with all its dire consequences for its inhabitants and the world, or even the opening of new Arctic shipping routes, which likely won’t be viable for many years.

Rather, we have real opportunities that are available today. Those opportunities are not based on our proximity to the Arctic but rather on our connectivity to the North Atlantic region through relationships. Eimskip and the Maine Port Authority, for example, are working together to develop statewide opportunities through the Port of Portland.

Primary among these opportunities is the potential for establishing mutually beneficial trading relationships and cultural and educational exchanges.

Read the full op-ed at CentralMaine.com