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November 14, 2016

Northeast Harbor: Thanks, but no thanks to cruise ships

After two hours of debate on Nov. 7 at a Northeast Harbor gymnasium with input from about 120 people, the town’s board of selectmen voted 5-0 against allowing American Cruise Lines to discharge passengers there next summer.

According to the Bangor Daily News, many retailers that call the Mount Desert Island village home welcomed the significant boost that cruise ships added to their businesses. That includes Erin Gray, owner of the Pine Tree Market, who told attendees that when the 200-passenger-ship Pearl Mist was in town for a day in September her store had $3,500 in revenues, a big jump from the $2,000 daily average for that time of year, the BDN reported.

Those in support of not allowing cruise ships to dock wrote in a letter published in the Mount Desert Islander newspaper that the ships jeopardize the small-town feel of Northeast Harbor, adding that cruise ships are detrimental to the local lobstermen who are at a risk of losing their gear when ships break lines or drag their traps along the ocean floor, the BDN reported.

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