The Rockland Fish Pier is an essential piece of Rockland’s working waterfront. The Fish Pier supports commercial fishing vessels from Rockland and beyond as a location for loading of gear and bait, unloading of catch, short-term tie-up for repairs, and other critical water-dependent uses. GEI is working with the City of Rockland to improve functionality of the pier through structural upgrades to the pier and dredging of the adjacent harbor.

Water depths around the existing pier were insufficient to support use through the full tide range by the fleet of vessels that use the facility. In the first phase of the project, completed in 2022-2023, dredging was performed on the north and south sides of the pier to improve water depth to a design depth of 9 feet MLLW. Approximately 3,000 cubic yards of sediment was dredged by mechanical methods and transported to the federally licensed Rockland Disposal Site for ocean disposal. An additional 325 cubic yards of rock was removed in shallow areas near small craft floats to improve access at low tide.

In addition, there are several structural issues with the pier that impact the ability of fishermen to effectively use the structure. The pier deck surface is in poor condition and has issues with recurring potholes. The fender pile system is also in poor condition. In 2023-2024, a second phase will be undertaken that consists of replacement of 73 fender piles, 5 floating camels, 4 ladders, and repair to damaged wales and chocks within the fender system. Future phases will also address needs for repairs to the pier deck and utility systems.

GEI’s scope of work has included condition assessment, hydrographic survey, design for multiple phases of the project, permitting for structural repairs and dredging, and construction administration services.

This project is being funded by the City of Rockland, the Maine DOT Small Harbor Improvement Program (SHIP), the Federal Economic Development Administration, and the Northern Borders Regional Commission.