Saving Seafood

Federal oil and gas leasing plan could include Maine coast

May 1, 2025 — The Trump administration is developing an offshore oil and gas leasing plan that could include waters in the Gulf of Maine.

The Natural Resources Council of Maine warns there are no economically recoverable fossil fuels in the region and that drilling risks environmental and economic harm.

“Offshore oil and gas exploration would directly threaten our marine ecosystems, risk devastation to our vibrant tourist economy, and harm our heritage fishing industry,” the council’s climate and clean energy director Jack Shapiro said in a statement.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management this month opened public comment on developing a new five-year lease schedule for the outer continental shelf.

Read the full story at CAI

Gulf of Maine scallop fishing to be closed a week after area was reopened

April 25, 2025 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Friday that a section of the Gulf of Maine will be closed to scallop fishing in a few days, as the agency has projected the catch will reach the season quota that was recently set.

NOAA Fisheries said the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will close at 12:01 a.m. Monday, April 28, to all federally-permitted limited access general category scallop vessels. The closure will be in effect until the end of the current fishing year, which lasts until March 31, 2026.

Read the full story at WMTW

Gulf of Maine scallop season resumes

April 24, 2025 — Regulators have reopened commercial scallop fishing in the Northern Gulf of Maine after the season was briefly paused when federal officials failed to approve recommended catch limits in time.

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) approved new quotas for the 2025 and 2026 scallop seasons in December 2024, setting a quota of 675,563 pounds for 2025 and a quota of 506,672 pounds for 2026 in the Northern Gulf of Maine federal fishery. However, the federal government still hadn’t approved those quotas before the 2025 season launched 1 April.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Scallop season reopens in Northern Gulf of Maine with higher quota

April 21, 2025 — On Monday, April 21, the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) scallop fishery officially reopened with a higher annual quota of 675,563 pounds, part of NOAA Fisheries’ finalized Framework 39 for the 2025 fishing year.

For scallopers from Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire — many of whom have been working the spring season since April 1 — this reopening brings renewed opportunity, especially as project landings are expected to reach 18 million pounds across the broader Atlantic sea scallop fishery. The final rule, published April 18, introduces several changes aimed at maximizing yield and reducing bycatch, including a delayed opening of key access areas until May 15, and new seasonal closures in the Nantucket Lightship and Elephant Trunk areas to protect juvenile scallops.

Well before the ink was dry on NOAA’s final rule, the Maine fleet had already started descending on Gloucester, Mass., in what’s become a springtime ritual. As National Fisherman reported in April 2024, upwards of 40 boats from as far east as Lubec tied up in America’s oldest seaport, all chasing the same 200-pound daily limit.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

MAINE: Scallop fishermen face tough choices after the federal fishery is paused

April 15, 2025 — Maine fishermen who participate in the federal Northern Gulf of Maine scallop fishery are stuck in regulatory limbo after the federal agency charged with implementing annual catch limits shut down the fishery temporarily last week.

Policy changes under the Trump administration sidelined the quota system last week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had set “default” quotas while a final funding decision was pending, but that 350,000-pound limit has been reached. Normally quotas run closer to 675,000 pounds, or 200 pounds per day, per fisherman.

The closure on Friday occurred just 11 days into the season.

While the early shut down is unprecedented, it should be temporary, according to Togue Brawn, who operates Bremen-based Downeast Dayboat Scallops and is a member of the New England Fishery Management Council, which recommends scallop quotas to the NOAA.

Read the full article at Mainebiz

NOAA Issues Ropeless Gear Advisory to Mariners as Testing Begins

March 29, 2025 — NOAA Fisheries is testing ropeless fishing gear for lobster and crab around the Gulf of Maine and around Cape Cod.

The testing is being carried out in areas that are otherwise restricted to fishing for certain portions of the year.

The gear does not have a marking buoy on the surface to avoid entanglements with sea life, instead only utilizing ropes when it’s time to be collected.

Read the full article at CapeCod.com

MAINE: GMRI series, A new report for the Gulf of Maine, where we stand today

March 20, 2025 — Dr. Duffy Anderson at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, dissected the 2024 warming report, updating Mainers on the conditions across our almost 3500 miles of coastline. The report reviews 2024 as the 12th warmest year for the Gulf of Maine.

The body of water is positioned at the intersection of two major currents—the warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current. This productive body of water has continued to evolve since warming began in 2012.

Read the full article at WMTW

Scientists seek approval for geoengineering project in Gulf of Maine

February 20, 2025 — A controversial geoengineering project is seeking a permit from EPA to conduct research in the Gulf of Maine — including experiments some scientists say could help the world meet its global climate goals.

Known as LOC-NESS — short for Locking away Ocean Carbon in the Northeast Shelf and Slope — the project is spearheaded by Adam Subhas, a marine scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. If approved, the experiments would help scientists test the possibility of using the ocean to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — offsetting human emissions of greenhouse gases and combating climate change.

The ocean naturally sucks up CO2 on its own. But scientists say that adding alkaline substances, or materials with a high pH, can cause the water to soak up even more of the climate-warming gas. LOC-NESS proposes to release small amounts of sodium hydroxide alongside a special dye used to trace the material’s movement through the water.

Read the full article at E&E News

Environmentalists Denounce Proposed Geoengineering Project in Gulf of Maine

January 25, 2025 — Friends of the Earth US and the Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) Alliance publicly oppose the proposed LOC-NESS experiment, which has re-submitted a permit request to dump sodium hydroxide into the Gulf of Maine, northeast of Cape Cod.

The project proposal was originally submitted in 2024 and is intended to test a new form of geoengineering called “ocean alkalinity enhancement” that comes with potentially catastrophic risks to the ocean environment and marine life. The project proponents delayed the project until 2025 following public backlash from environmental groups and local fishermen and lobstermen, as well as warnings from the National Marine Fisheries Service that LOC-NESS could endanger fish populations in the area.

Read the full article at Friends of the Earth

‘Much uncertainty.’ Cape, Mass. leaders see political shifts that may slow offshore wind

January 6, 2025 — The future of offshore wind is at a pivotal point this year, marked by a mix of determination and uncertainty.

On Dec. 20, the Biden-Harris administration granted final approval for SouthCoast Wind, the eleventh offshore wind project it has approved. With up to 141 turbines and the potential to generate 2.4 gigawatts of electricity, the SouthCoast Wind project, in a federal lease area south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, is a key part of the region’s clean energy goals steadfastly promoted by Gov. Maura Healey, and many legislators and environmental advocates.

But the incoming Trump-Vance administration could dramatically alter the regulatory and financial landscape for offshore wind. Their less favorable stance toward the industry raises concerns about the pace of future projects and the viability of less mature proposals. This is especially true for the Gulf of Maine lease areas, where the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has provisionally awarded four of eight lease areas to Avangrid Renewables and Invenergy NE Offshore Wind, including due east of Cape Cod.

Local concerns and political shifts

Those who have voiced concerns about offshore development, meanwhile, say a cooler federal stance on offshore wind would be welcome. Many critics, particularly on Cape Cod, say the offshore wind industry is advancing too quickly without adequate consultation with those who will be most affected — local residents, fishermen, and coastal communities.

Susanne Conley, a Barnstable resident who’s a leader of the Save Greater Dowses Beach citizens group, advocates for a reevaluation of offshore wind policy. While she supports the transition to renewable energy, she believes the Biden-Harris offshore wind program should be halted, particularly in light of what she perceives as insufficient baseline environmental data “to understand the effect of these massive projects on the fisheries, on all ocean life, and on coastal communities.”

Read the full story at The Standard-Times