Saving Seafood

Mainers rally to oppose offshore wind development

April 30, 2021 — A gathering to oppose offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine brought nearly 500 Mainers to the state capital on Wednesday, April 28. The rally sought to centralize the concerns of Maine’s fishing communities and fishermen who believe they have been overlooked in the siting and development phases for offshore energy buildout on the Gulf of Maine.

At the gathering — organized by the Maine Lobstering Union (Local 207), with support from Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and in partnership with the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association and Maine Lobstermen’s Association — fishermen voiced concerns regarding the unknown impacts to ocean ecosystems, marine habitats, and the fisheries that have supported coastal communities for centuries.

“Maine lobstermen are stewards of the sea and partake in the most sustainable fishery in the world. Protecting it and its environment for centuries has been our goal,” said Matthew Gilley, a lobsterman from Harpswell, and one of the speakers at the event. “The state of Maine believes it’s a good idea to replace this way of life with unproven foreign-backed power plants in the Gulf of Maine, and we disagree.”

Before the rally, Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced her intention to submit a bill to prohibit the siting of offshore wind within three miles of Maine’s coast for the next 10 years. Maine family fishing businesses and fishing industry organizations have pledged to push the state to provide a clear plan for offshore wind development, as well as a detailed plan outlining the potential of alternate green energy investment opportunities that will protect the Gulf of Maine, our natural resources, and Maine’s working citizens.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Trump wants to use trade war bailout funds to buoy Maine’s lobster industry

June 26, 2020 — President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week directing the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide trade war bailout money to Maine lobstermen, a long-coveted win for the industry, which has been impacted by steep Chinese tariffs since 2018.

The EO instructs Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to assess trade war damages to the New England seafood industry and distribute aid accordingly, and to include the U.S. seafood producers in future payments.

“It’s good news, definitely, to see the president taking an interest in the lobster industry,” said Sheila Dassatt, executive director of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, an organization that advocates for the industry.

Read the full story at The Counter

Fishing industry lobbies for Maine commissioner to retain his post

January 1, 2019 — The leaders of Maine’s fishing industry want Patrick Keliher to stay on as head of the state’s Department of Marine Resources under incoming governor Janet Mills.

“Our industries are confronted by major issues on the water, in international waters, and within several regulatory arenas that have major consequences for our ability to do business and remain profitable,” industry leaders wrote in a rare joint letter to Mills. “The future success of Maine’s seafood industry depends on the continued strong leadership, stability, institutional knowledge and political capital that only Commissioner Keliher possesses.”

There is no word on whether Mills, who worked with Keliher as state attorney general, wants the seven-year commissioner to stay in his appointed post. Mills is taking the industry’s recommendation into consideration, spokesman Scott Ogdon said Monday. She expects to make an announcement on Keliher’s fate soon, as well as other remaining Cabinet positions, so her administration can “hit the ground running,” he said.

At a campaign forum in October, Mills said she wanted honest, hard-working commissioners with expertise in their fields and willingness to enforce state laws. She said the ideal candidate would understand all the state’s fishing industries, including aquaculture, and would have “come up through the ranks.” Most importantly, Mills said her DMR commissioner must be a good communicator with consumers, industry and policy makers. “There’s been too little of that in the last eight years,” Mills told the forum, which was organized by the seafood industry. “We need openness and transparency.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

MAINE: Fishing surveillance bill amended

May 10, 2017 — A bill that would authorize the Department of Marine Resources to conduct surreptitious electronic surveillance of lobster boats drew mixed reviews at a hearing by the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee in April.

But at a work session last Wednesday, the committee voted to recommend passage of an amended version of the bill.

Introduced by Rep. Walter Kumiega (D-Deer Isle) at the request of the Department of Marine Resources, LD 1379 — as initially formulated — would have given the DMR commissioner authority to approve installation of electronic tracking devices on lobster boats without first getting a warrant from a judge. The approval would have been based on an affidavit from the chief of the Marine Patrol that he had “probable cause” to believe that a civil violation of the laws regulating the placement or hauling of lobster gear had occurred.

At its work session last week, the committee scrapped the idea of authorizing the commissioner to approve installation of tracking devices and took a new approach.

According to committee Co-chairman Kumiega, the committee opted to make four kinds of conduct “associated with fishing over the limit” of traps allowed Class D misdemeanors.

As of now, these violations are civil offenses.

The reason for the change, Kumiega said, is that Marine Patrol officers could not obtain sealed warrants from a judge when the offenses were handled as civil violations.

As criminal offenses, that all would change. Marine Patrol officers would be able to obtain warrants without giving notice to the subject of an investigation.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American