Saving Seafood

Interior cuts Gulf of Maine offshore wind area

March 18, 2024 — The Interior Department will not sell offshore wind rights in the Gulf of Maine’s prime lobster area in an upcoming auction, according to a final plan released Friday on where to advance wind energy in the north Atlantic Ocean.

Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it has designated roughly 2 million acres in the Gulf of Maine for potential wind energy, enough to support 32 gigawatts of renewable electricity. The area is 40 percent smaller than a draft plan BOEM released last year and avoids habitat for the endangered North American right whale.

The move is a significant step toward holding the first auction in those waters later this year and could boost floating wind technology, an emerging field needed for deep waters. The final wind energy area lies off the coasts of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, ranging from 23 to 92 miles from the coastline.

Read the full article at E&E News

MAINE: Maine leaders praise decision protecting vital lobstering territory from wind development

March 18, 2024 — Gov. Janet Mills and state congressional leaders on Friday praised a decision by a federal agency to exclude an important lobster fishing ground from the area in the Gulf of Maine that will be leased for offshore wind development.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Friday released its final designated Wind Energy Area for the Gulf of Maine, which the agency said could ultimately support the generation of 32 gigawatts of clean energy.

The area excludes the entirety of Lobster Management Area 1, which is a crucial fishing ground for Maine’s lobster industry. That decision comes after Mills, Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden repeatedly asked last year for that fishing ground to be excluded from the project.

“We appreciate that the Bureau has heeded our concerns and the majority of the concerns of Maine’s fishing communities in its final designation of Wind Energy Areas for the Gulf of Maine,” Mills, King, Collins and Pingree said in a statement. “This decision preserves vital fishing grounds and seeks to minimize potential environmental and ecological impacts to the Gulf of Maine.”

Read the full article at Rhode Island Current

Feds pick New England’s offshore wind development area, drawing cheers and questions alike

March 15, 2024 — The federal government on Friday designated a large area off the New England coast for offshore wind production development, setting the stage for a possible lease sale within the Gulf of Maine.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said in a statement that the New England zone, which renewable energy advocates have identified as crucial for the growth of wind power, “avoids important areas for lobster fishing, North Atlantic right whale habitat, and other important fishing areas and habitats.”

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills, and three Maine lawmakers — Republican Sen. Susan Collins, independent Sen. Angus King and Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree — also issued a joint statement saying the designated area “preserves vital fishing grounds and seeks to minimize potential environmental and ecological impacts to the Gulf of Maine.”

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Luke’s Lobster gears up for an expanded third year of its Lift All Boats program

May 15, 2024 — Saco, Maine, U.S.A.-based restaurant chain Luke’s Lobster has expanded its Lift All Boats program, Luke’s Lobster Chief Innovation Officer Ben Conniff told SeafoodSource at 2024 Seafood Expo North America, which took place 10 to 12 March in Boston, Massachusetts U.S.A.

The program was first launched in the summer of 2022 and was designed to encourage Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) youth involvement in Maine’s lobster industry.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Maine’s commercial fisheries landings soar in 2023

March 14, 2024 — The state of Maine’s 2023 preliminary numbers for commercial seafood landings were released on March 1, showing a significantly strong year for the industry. The state’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) shows commercial fishermen earning $611,277,692 for the 204,684,775 pounds of seafood landed on state docks.

The earnings showed an increase of $25 million from the year before. Governor Janet Mills shared that “the Maine seafood industry continues to be a powerful economic engine for our state.”

The top three species landed in the state were lobster (46%), menhaden or pogies (12%), and seaweed (10%). 93,734,116 pounds of lobster were landed for a $461,371,720 value. The value represents what is paid at the docks to fishermen and the dollars that flow throughout the state’s local economy. This showed about a $72 million increase.

The following was released by the National Fisherman

MAINE: Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2024 recap

March 13, 2024 — The Maine Fishermen’s Forum (MFF) hit the midcoast for the 49th year, with the Samoset hotel selling out within one day of opening for reservations. There was a full tradeshow floor with 120 exhibitors, and the dinner events for all three nights sold out weeks in advance. Maine Coast Fishermen, National Fisherman, and Eaton Peabody sponsored the dinners that previewed the silent auction, the live auction, and the award banquet with a live band.

Over 40 seminars took place over the three days and brought together commercial fishermen, scientists, government, and other stakeholders to collaborate and bring their voices to the table.

Thursday included an all-day offshore wind seminar on the leasing process, with individuals from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and ME and NH Sea Grant, and an all-day shellfish focus for aquaculture farmers and fishermen alike.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: There are glimmers of Atlantic salmon success in Maine

March 12, 2024 — “Chase the fish, boy. Yer down to the backin’. Chase the fish,” shouted my guide.

The Medalist reel sang as the 9-weight line wound off the spool with authority. The tip of the Sage fly rod pulsated as the 18-pound Atlantic salmon lived up to its reputation, leaping and twisting above the frothing waters of the Upsalquitch River.

The dance of this powerful silver game fish took my breath away. My heart pounded. As instructed, I chased the fighting fish downriver stumbling and banging my knees on the slippery stream-side stones.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

Fishermen accused of herring fraud face federal trial

March 11, 2024 — On March 7, five individuals charged with a multi-year scheme of selling unreported herring and forging fishing records began trial in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine. According to The Courier-Gazette, the trial is expected to last at least nine days.

The five defendants who pleaded not guilty are Glenn Robbins of Eliot, Maine; Neil Herrick of Rockland, Maine; Stephen Little of Warren, Maine; Ethan Chase of Portsmouth, N.H., and Jason Parent of Owls Head, Maine and Western Sea Inc. Some additional defendants previously pleaded guilty.

The fishermen and seafood companies were charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice in connection with the multi-year scheme, according to the Penobscot Bay Pilot. The indictment was originally filed on Jan. 27, 2022.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: In Maine, aquaculture-friendly legislation meets opposition

March 9, 2024 — Aquaculture advocates in the U.S. state of Maine are having a hard time getting through to legislators in the state capitol of Augusta.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has backed a bill to make its process for reviewing aquaculture leases more efficient, but its call for a reduction in public notices and tighter requirements for a public hearing have raised the ire of numerous fishermen and community groups all along the coast.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Catch dips as lobster fishers grapple with climate change, whale rules

March 7, 2024 — America’s lobster fishing business dipped in catch while grappling with challenges including a changing ocean environment and new rules designed to protect rare whales.

The lobster industry, based mostly in Maine, has had an unprecedented decade in terms of the volume and value of the lobsters brought to the docks. But members of the industry have also said they face existential threats from proposed rules intended to protect the North Atlantic right whale and climate change that is influencing where lobsters can be trapped.

Fishermen from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other Northeast states also harvest lobsters with traps from the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, but about 80% comes to the docks in Maine in a typical years.

Maine fishermen’s catch in 2023 fell more than 5% from the year that preceded it, and the total of 93.7 million pounds of lobsters caught was the lowest figure since 2009, according to data released Friday by the Maine Department of Marine

Read the full article at The Daily News