Saving Seafood

MAINE: Harvesters, scientists and town officials coordinate steps to rebuild clam population

May 12, 2026 — On a cool, overcast Thursday morning, a little before low tide, more than a dozen clam harvesters and Russell Wright, Lubec’s shellfish warden, gathered on the Narrows flats to collect juvenile clams as part of an effort to maintain the local population.

The juvenile clams collected that day were later planted on the Pirates Creek flats, which are expected to remain closed to harvesting until Dec. 1 to protect them as they mature.

The effort was part of the Lubec Shellfish Committee’s two‑pronged approach to clam conservation, which the committee discussed at its May 4 meeting: moving juvenile clams from one flat to another and planting nursery‑grown clam seed.

Read the full article at Maine Monitor

Endangered whale protections may be delayed to 2035 under Trump-backed plan

May 5, 2026 — For roughly 380 right whales left in the North Atlantic, which can die after getting tangled in fishing ropes or hit by ships, the Trump administration said this month it wants to delay new protections by almost a decade in favor of commercial fishing interests.

The sleek black whales, which weigh as much as a midsized bulldozer, are critically endangered and their numbers have declined sharply in recent decades. Environmental groups say reducing deaths and injuries caused by people is essential to the species’ recovery.

The whales give birth off Florida and Georgia before making a long migration north to feed off New England and Canada. Protected areas of ocean aid them on their journey, but scientists have said they have strayed from those zones in recent years in search of food as the oceans have warmed.

A proposal by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, would push back new federal protections for right whales to 2035, and allow time to craft regulations that are less burdensome to the fishing industry. The White House released a memo Friday saying it “strongly supports” the plan and that President Donald Trump’s senior advisors would recommend he sign it into law if it passes Congress.

Read the full article at the Associates Press

Bill to delay right whale regulations gains support from Trump and Maine fishermen

May 4, 2026 — A bill proposed by Democratic U.S. Representative Jared Golden is gaining support from President Donald Trump and some in Maine’s fishing industry.

The legislation, known as H.R. 8509, would extend a moratorium on fishing regulations aimed at protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Those rules are currently set to take effect in 2028, but the bill would push that timeline back to 2035 if approved.

Lobstermen with the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association said the data used to create those regulations is inaccurate. They argued the rules could lead to unnecessarily strict limits on where they can fish and how they operate.

“Give fishermen and the state of Maine DMR time to see where the whales actually are and give a chance for us to see the impact the seasonal closures and the changes we’ve already made to our gear have made.”

Joyce said some of the proposed regulations could include restricting access to certain waters and requiring the use of “ropeless” lobster gear. That type of gear removes the vertical rope connecting traps to buoys—a line that can entangle whales.

But Joyce and other fishermen believe that the solution is unsafe and costly.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

MAINE: Downeast fleet mourns loss of Steuben lobsterman found

April 29, 2026 — The Downeast Maine fleet is mourning the loss of one of its own after a longtime Steuben lobsterman was found dead in the water.

63-year-old Thomas West was discovered in Dyer Bay early Wednesday morning near his 35-foot lobster boat Aces and Eights. The Maine Department of Marine Resources said West was found around 6 am after a search effort that began the night before, when local fishermen reported his vessel running with no one aboard.

Maine Marine Patrol launched a search on Tuesday night, deploying a remotely operated vehicle to scan the area near the moored boat. The effort was suspended in the early morning hours due to low visibility but was set to resume before West’s body was ultimately located by family members and brought aboard a relative’s vessel, according to News Center Maine.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

US secretary of commerce testifies before Senate on Maine lobster, fishery disaster requests, surveys

April 24, 2026 — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick commented on a handful of fisheries issues under questioning by lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee during an 22 April hearing.

Senators demanded answers from the Trump administration official on regulations surrounding Maine lobster, the backlog of fishery disaster determination requests, and NOAA Fisheries’ capacity to conduct surveys in the face of budget and staffing cuts during a hearing ostensibly about the Department of Commerce’s fiscal year 2027 budget.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

 

MAINE: Fishermen have recycled thousands of old lobster traps on Vinalhaven this winter

April 23, 2026 — The sun is just starting to peak through the dense clouds on this late morning in April, as Buzz Scott hoists up a heavy wire lobster trap.

Scott is working with a small crew of fishermen, and the traps, and the jokes, are flying.

“See this is why fishermen have big bellies,” Scott says, as he uses his stomach to lift one of the traps and heave it onto the bed a trailer.

Very few of these traps are useable. Some are caked with moss and mud. Others have been crushed. Curt Bryant, known to the guys as “Chief,” said the traps on this property have been sitting idle for years.

“This was all traps and it was all five high, four and five high like that,” Bryant said. “This whole thing was solid.”

This is a common scene up and down Maine’s coast — battered wire fishing traps piled high in a front yard, tucked back in the woods, or strewn along the shore after a storm. Wire pots wrapped with polyvinyl plastic replaced wooden, biodegradable traps in the 1980s, and they’ve been piling up since, shedding microplastics and creating hazards for birds and other creatures.

Read the full article at nhpr

Cunner, climate, and concern: Study digs into lobster questions

April 22, 2026 — Along Maine’s coast, a familiar fish is raising new questions for lobstermen.

Researchers at the University of Maine (UMaine) are taking a closer look at whether cunner fish– long known to share habitat with lobsters– may be preying on them in a new way, particularly targeting egg-bearing females. The work is being led by fisheries scientist Michelle Staudinger, backed by a National Geographic Society grant aimed at studying keystone species and emerging ecosystems shifts.

Cunner aren’t new to the Gulf of Maine. The small, colorful fish have always fed on young lobsters in their early benthic stages, along with clams and snails. But recently, fishermen and the Maine Department of Marine Resources have reported cunner showing up in traps, and in some cases with lobster eggs in their mouths, raising concerns about potential impacts to the fishery.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

April 2026 Council Meeting Summary

April 22, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council met from April 14-16, 2026, in Portland, Maine. The following is a summary of actions taken and issues considered during the meeting. Presentations, meeting materials, motions, and meeting audio recordings are available on the Council’s April 2026 meeting page.

ACROSS THE STOCKS

Monkfish and Skates: The Council considered input from the Joint Advisory Panels and Committees and voted to discontinue the 2026 priority related to IFQ Scoping for monkfish and/or skate wing fisheries. The Council approved a series of listening sessions for monkfish and skate fishermen across New England and the Mid-Atlantic to solicit input and ideas for fisheries and management improvements. Read the full press release here.

Herring: The Council received an update on the 2026 herring action that will:

• Set Atlantic herring specifications for fishing years 2027-2031.

• Enhance river herring and shad (American shad and hickory shad) avoidance and other catch reduction measures to support ongoing coastwide restoration efforts.

• Address other management measures such as the carryover of unharvested catch. This action will be initiated in June with Council final action planned for the September 2026 meeting.

Redfish Sector Exemption Review: The Council received a report evaluating the performance of the Redfish Sector Exemption program. This program allows commercial trawl vessels enrolled in sectors to target redfish with smaller mesh gear in designated areas. It was established as a universal sector exemption in the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in Framework 61. The review found generally strong sector compliance with catch thresholds and stable participation. It also examined bycatch of other groundfish, vessellevel performance, and program goals and objectives. The review was a regulatory requirement and a 2026 Council Priority. Based on information from the review, the Council may consider modifications to the redfish sector exemption program in the future.

Groundfish Action Update: Framework 69, which set specifications for several groundfish stocks for fishing years 2025-2027, was implemented on March 8, 2026. Amendment 25 (A25), which incorporates the four Atlantic cod stocks (Eastern Gulf of Maine; Western Gulf of Maine; Georges Bank; and Southern New England) into the Northeast Multispecies FMP and sets status determination criteria and management measures for these stocks, including accountability measures, recreational provisions, and catch limits for fishing years 2026 and 2027, was approved by NMFS on April 6, 2026. The action received broad public support, with over 250 comments largely favoring timely approval and implementation. Final implementing regulations are forthcoming, with interim default allocations expected to be in place until the rule is finalized. Framework 72, which will set specifications for several groundfish stocks for FY2026-2028, is currently in review with anticipated implementation in the coming months.

Read the full release here

Senator Collins’ Statement on the Creation of the USDA Office of Seafood

April 17, 2026 — The following was released by the Office of U.S. Senator Susan Collins:

U.S. Senator Susan Collins released the following statement announcing the creation of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Seafood:

“Fishing is the very foundation of Maine’s heritage. Today, the seafood industry in our region generates more than $5 billion in income and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, in addition to providing a nutritious food supply, delicious restaurant meals, and sustaining entire coastal communities. I appreciate that USDA is recognizing our fishermen as farmers of the sea and establishing the Office of Seafood. The creation of this office is a long-overdue, essential step to expanding seats at the table for our hardworking fishing families, who are a key piece of our nation’s history and our future as well.”

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The USDA Office of Seafood will expand federal support for America’s fishermen and seafood harvesters, and ensure fishermen, small businesses, and coastal communities have greater access to USDA programs. It will also coordinate across USDA agencies to ensure fishermen are able to interact directly with the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal partners to revitalize the American seafood industry.

Senator Collins has been a strong advocate for Maine’s fishermen and women and the seafood industry. Senator Collins led the Maine delegation in securing a provision in the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations legislation that protected the Maine lobster fishery from unfair federal regulation for six years. Since the enactment of this provision, Senator Collins has secured more than $80 million in funding for North Atlantic Right Whale research and monitoring through her role on the Senate Appropriations Committee. This research supports Maine’s lobster industry by improving the quality of the data used to inform federal regulations.

Senator Collins also led efforts to rebuild Maine’s working waterfronts. After back-to-back storms in January 2024 that caused significant damage to Maine’s coast, Senator Collins secured $15 million to help communities recover from coastal infrastructure damage in the Fiscal Year 2024 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act. The legislation included $10 million, administered through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, to repair and renovate infrastructure affected by recent storms, and $5 million to establish a new program at the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for working waterfronts.

The announcement came during the week of the fiftieth anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Act—the primary law governing marine fisheries in U.S. federal waters.