Saving Seafood

Gov. Mills asks Trump administration to reject right whale protection proposal

June 29, 2020 — Gov. Janet Mills has asked the Trump administration to reject a petition from the Pew Charitable Trusts that proposes tight seasonal regulations for some lobster fishing areas to protect endangered right whales.

The proposal “not only fails to provide additional protections for right whales, but contrary to Pew’s assertions, it will cause significant economic impact to Maine’s iconic lobster industry,” Mills wrote in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

Pew, a national civic engagement and public affairs nonprofit, submitted a petition this month to ban traditional lobster fishing in areas where whales feed during their annual migration. The nonprofit wants alternating three-month periods when only ropeless fishing is allowed in areas including waters off Mount Desert Rock, Jordan Basin and Jeffrey’s Ledge, and year-round ropeless fishing off the coast of Nantucket.

The restrictions to protect the remaining 400 right whales would only minimally impact Maine’s $483 million lobster fishery because most fishing takes place closer to shore, Pew said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine’s governor objects to petition requesting vertical-line prohibition

June 26, 2020 — The U.S. state of Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, has written a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross objecting to a recent petition that aims to prohibit the use of vertical lines in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries in four areas off the New England coast.

The petition was submitted by The Pew Charitable Trusts earlier this month, with the intention of protecting the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale. Right whales are one of the most endangered mammal species in the world, and entanglement with vertical lines have led to new regulation that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association has objected to.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New Executive Order Delays Requirement for Maine Seafood Dealers, Processors to Renew Licenses

April 7, 2020 — Seafood dealers and processors in Maine are being provided with some temporary economic relief thanks to a new Executive Order issued by Governor Janet Mills last week. The new order delays the requirement for Maine seafood dealers and processors to renew their license.

According to a bulletin sent out by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, required fees for annual license renewals will be postponed for two months. This only applies to those who are renewing a license. Anyone who is applying for a license for the first time will be required to pay any applicable fees if they intend on operating on or after April 1, 2020.

Read the full story at Seafood News

As Maine’s Fishing Industry Flounders Amid Coronavirus, Lawmakers Look for Help

April 1, 2020 — With so many restaurants closed and much of life disrupted by the new coronavirus, fishermen in New England are trying to figure out how they’ll pay the bills this year.

Leaders in Maine say that they’ve found some specific ways to help at the local level but think more federal aid may be needed to help those in the seafood industry minimize economic damage.

Last week, Maine Gov. Janet Mills sent a letter to President Donald Trump explaining how dire the situation is.

She told the White House that “a $50 million loss in fishery value” in lobstering by June was a real risk at present.

Mills has provided pathways for Maine small businesses to apply for low-interest loans that could help offset cause during the virus outbreak.

Read the full story at NECN

Fishermen turn to direct marketing as demand for Maine seafood plummets

March 27, 2020 — For decades, lobster has been the symbol of Maine’s fishing industry, but at the moment the microscopic coronavirus is taking center stage.

As recently as Feb. 27, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the state. By Thursday, the public health agency reported 155 confirmed cases in Maine and the state was on virtual lockdown. All those who could work from home were staying away from their offices, “nonessential” businesses were shuttered, and bars and restaurants were closed except for takeout and delivery business.

While the economic news has been bad for all sectors of the economy, the fishing industry has been particularly hard-hit.

Last Friday, Gov. Janet Mills wrote to President Trump seeking “immediate assistance” for the Maine fishing industry. Harvesters, she said, “have only limited opportunities within their communities to sell small quantities … in hopes to earn just enough money to buy weekly necessities.” Likewise, she said dealers and processors reported there were “no markets for the product already in inventory.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine closes elver fishery, requests federal assistance due to COVID-19 impacts

March 24, 2020 — The U.S. state of Maine is requesting federal aid due to the ongoing impacts the COVID-19 outbreak is having on its fisheries.

Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, recently sent a letter to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump requesting federal assistance for the state’s seafood industry as trade disruptions and restaurant closures affect the state’s valuable lobster fishery, which was worth USD 485 million (EUR 451.4 million) in 2019. The fishery has been heavily impacted by the ongoing pandemic as demand for lobsters has plummeted.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Mills requests federal assistance for Maine’s seafood industry

March 23, 2020 — Gov. Janet Mills is asking President Trump for help to support Maine’s fishing industry.

In a letter to the president Friday, Mills pointed to a collapse of the markets for seafood both locally and globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic and asked the administration to consider direct financial assistance, subsidies, operating loans or loan deferment, or tweaking existing programs to make them more accessible to fishing and seafood businesses.

“In the short-term, harvesters have only limited opportunities within their communities to sell small quantities of product in hopes to earn just enough money to buy weekly necessities,” wrote Mills, calling the men and women who fish for lobster, herring, groundfish and shellfish “the very backbone of our rural coastal economy.”

In the long term, Mills said, “it is clear that the collapse of the international and larger domestic markets will devastate Maine’s commercial fisheries.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine’s 10-year economic development plan spotlights aquaculture

January 23, 2020 — Janet Mills, the governor of the U.S. state of Maine, recently announced a 10-year strategic economic development plan to grow the state’s economy, and has included aquaculture as a target industry to support and cultivate. The plan is designed to combat poor economic growth in the state caused by lethargic gross domestic product, a shrinking workforce, and subpar state wages.

“This strategic plan creates a road map to foster collaboration, drive innovation, jump start growth, and, ultimately, achieve a diverse, forward-looking economy that offers everyone an opportunity to succeed,” Mills said in announcing the plan, according to MaineBiz.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New Task Force Will Consider Leases For Offshore Wind Energy Developers In The Gulf Of Maine

December 12, 2019 — A new task force will convene for the first time Thursday to consider how and where to lease potentially vast swathes of the Gulf of Maine to offshore wind-energy developers. The outcome could have big consequences for Maine’s fishing industry, and for the state’s role in the next wave of renewable energy development.

An earlier round of auctions awarded leases in federal waters off southern New England, where several large-scale wind projects should soon start churning out thousands of megawatts of electricity — a big down payment on state commitments to ramp up the use of renewable energy.

Now, at New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu’s request, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is starting a new process to designate the best areas for offshore wind projects farther north — in the Gulf of Maine. Analysts say investments could be worth billions of dollars, with thousands of jobs in the offing.

“This is a really significant opportunity for our energy future and economy,” says Dan Burgess.

Burgess directs Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ energy office, and he is leading the state’s delegation to the intergovernmental task force that will advise the Bureau Of Ocean Energy Management. The panel also includes representatives from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, tribal governments and the feds.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Maine lobster industry, officials push back against federal right whale protection plans

November 7, 2019 — The U.S. state of Maine’s lobster industry, in addition to some state officials, are pushing back against proposals requiring fewer vertical lines in the industry in order to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

At a meeting on 6 November, Maine’s Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher called the state’s counter-proposal – using weaker rope and more traps per line in deep waters – the “line in the sand,” according to the Portland Press Herald. The state has been fighting back against the federal government’s proposal to reduce lines by 50 percent, a proposal that the state’s governor, Janet Mills, called “foolish.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source