Infrastructure
Maritime infrastructure provides utility to commercial fishers, but also serves as a physical embodiment of the importance of the industry to a community as a whole. During the Beaufort Then era, a majority of waterfront structures were used by commercial fishers to store and process their catches (8). Additionally, other buildings in town were occupied by businesses that further supported this economy, for example, hardware stores and fuel stations. However, as commercial fishing declined in importance, many of the supporting businesses closed their doors. As the economic foundation of the community shifted to support tourism and recreation, the function of these spaces followed suit.
Transformation of Productivist to Consumptive Infrastructure
During the Beaufort Then era, the town had an active working waterfront with the majority of buildings and infrastructure used for fish processing and the maintenance of commercial fleets (8). After Beaufort decided to “revitalize” the downtown district, it turned its waterfront away from a commercial fishing space (27). Instead, these buildings house businesses that cater to recreational fishers, pleasure boaters, and visiting tourists.
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Understanding these Changes
Despite stated goals in the town’s Land Use Plans about preserving the traditional economy, changes in fisheries and Beaufort’s community composition demonstrate a shift in values to prioritize other industries, such as tourism and recreation (23). The greater emphasis on supporting recreational fishing and pleasure boating restructured Beaufort’s working waterfront and downtown businesses (28). Overtime, as Beaufort processed fewer and fewer commercial catches, the supporting industries started to disappear as well, further reducing the visibility of commercial fishing within the community (22). The Waterfront Revitalization Project was originally described as an initiative to generate a new era of economic prosperity (23); however, this project did little to preserve commercial fishing spaces. The fish houses and docking piers that are outlined in the Sanborn Maps are no longer found in the downtown area (8). Instead, traditional commercial fishing access points were turned into spaces for restaurants, gift shops, and vacation rentals. The majority of what remains of the Beaufort commercial fishing fleet has been moved across the Beaufort Channel. The reduction of working waterfront space in the downtown area is also accompanied by the privatization of the shore, as new residents buy up high value waterfront property (27).
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The changes in infrastructure and property ownership have two effects. First, once fishers lose rights to their traditional water access points and these spaces are transformed, the rights and space are difficult to reclaim. Thus, reducing the potential for commercial fishing to regain economic significance (6). Second, the shrinking visibility of and participation in commercial fishing makes it challenging for remaining commercial fishing industries to retain their position and influence in their community and local government (6, 29, 30).