October 30, 2026 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is planning a winter bottom trawl survey around the state’s long-planned offshore wind energy research project, aiming to understand how floating wind turbines may affect the ocean ecosystem and commercial fishing.
After major offshore wind proposals succumbed to opposition from the Trump administration, the modest Maine Research Array Wind Energy Area – a lease area of almost 15,000 acres in the Gulf of Maine – remains in limbo, since a potential developer bowed out in March 2026 over that uncertainty about federal policy.
The 55-foot dragger Northern Lights is scheduled to set out from Portland to work from around Jan. 11 through Feb. 28, with 37 sampling tows over nine days. The time frame is weather-dependent and could extend into March, according to an agency statement.
The sampling will help researchers examining fish and invertebrate populations “to establish baseline data that they will then compare with findings collected during the construction and operation” of a floating turbine array, according to the DMR.