Working Waterfronts and the CZMA: Defining Water-dependent Use

Water-dependent businesses, including marine transportation companies, seafood processing plants, commercial fishing, and charter boats, require infrastructure located on or adjacent to water to maintain their operations. The working waterfronts necessary to support these industries, such as slips, dry-docks, ramps, loading and unloading facilities, and warehouses, are often at risk of displacement by non-water-dependent uses like restaurants, hotels, retail, or residential housing. Traditional working waterfronts and the businesses that rely on them can be preserved, in part, through the incorporation of water-dependency definitions and requirements into state and local laws, regulations, and policies