Saving Seafood

UMaine launches marine product program to help drive the state’s ‘blue economy’

August 31, 2021 — A new University of Maine program aims to deepen partnerships between science and business experts in the state’s fisheries, aquaculture sector and other working-waterfront industries.

UMaine’s Darling Marine Center and Maine Business School are launching the UMaine Blue Economy Program, where students, faculty, communities and industry partners will work together to conduct research and develop products related to Maine’s ocean-based commerce, according to a news release.

The graduate education and research initiative is supported with a $50,000 award from the William Procter Scientific Innovation Fund.

“The UMaine Blue Economy Program builds on more than 55 years of creative collaboration at the Darling Marine Center among scientists, entrepreneurs and other professionals,” Darling’s director, Heather Leslie, said in the release. “It will enable us to deepen partnerships among science and business experts while enhancing UMaine’s contributions to fisheries, aquaculture and other working waterfront-dependent industries of the state.”

Read the full story at MaineBiz

MAINE: Authorities Investigating Mass Salmon Die-Off At Down East Aquaculture Operation

August 30, 2021 — An investigation is underway into what caused a mass die-off of salmon at a Cooke Aquaculture operation Down East.

In a statement, Cooke Aquaculture spokesperson Joel Richardson writes that “uncommonly low oxygen levels in the cages” are being blamed for the fish die-off, and that the company is “completing the safe removal of mortalities that have occurred” at salmon farm sites off Black Island, near Frenchboro.

New Brunswick-based Cooke Aquaculture was cited in 2019 by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection after multiple violations were found at net pen sites in Hancock and Washington counties. The company agreed to pay more than $150,000 as part of the case resolution.

The violations included overcrowding of fish pens. The company was also cited for failing to conduct environmental sampling or submit reports on schedule.

Read the full story at Maine Public

MAINE: Penobscot River is on track to see fewest Atlantic salmon in recent years

August 30, 2021 — As the species continues to struggle to reproduce and re-establish historic populations, there have been considerably fewer Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River this year.

As of the latest trap count report provided Aug. 23 by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, only 520 salmon have passed through the Milford and Orono dams this year.

That is fewer fish than were counted, as of the same date, in each of the previous four years and represents the fourth lowest total since 2000.

But one down year doesn’t spell disaster for the species.

Last year, 1,458 Atlantic salmon made their way through the Penobscot River dams, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. It was the highest return since 2011.

“There are many factors that might contribute to the lower run this year, the most significant likely being low survival at sea and poor freshwater survival and passage at dams for juveniles in prior years,” said Sean Ledwin, the sea run fisheries and habitat division director for the Department of Marine Resources.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: More than 125 boats participate in protest on Frenchman Bay

August 30, 2021 — More than 125 boats chugged across Frenchman Bay on Sunday to protest plans by American Aquafarms to place an industrial salmon farm in the bay off the coast of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

Organizers of the “Save the Bay” flotilla said it demonstrates the depth of opposition to the proposed salmon farm. The parade of boats included working lobster boats as well as pleasure craft.

The flotilla passed by the Bar Harbor town pier, where people stood holding signs in opposition to the fish farm.

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation helped organize Sunday’s protest. The foundation and other parties are concerned that the fish farm will have negative environmental implications on the bay and its users.

American Aquafarms describes itself on its website as an American company that is in the process of establishing a hatchery, fish farm facilities – for both Atlantic salmon and cod – and a state-of-the art processing plant in coastal Maine.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Maine scallop fishermen to have same limits in 2021-22

August 30, 2021 — Maine fishermen will likely face the same quota limits for scallops in the coming fishing season.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources said regulators have proposed daily possession limits of 15 gallons along most of Maine’s coast and 10 gallons in the Cobscook Bay area. Those are the same limits fishermen faced in the previous year.

The fishing season for Maine scallops begins in late fall. The marine resources department said there would be restricted and closed areas along the coast to help scallops grow. That happens every year.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

DANA CONNORS: Does aquaculture fit with Maine’s economic, environmental future? A thorough review will find out.

August 27, 2021 — Sustainability is a word we hear a lot in Maine’s business community. Whether in regards to economic, environmental or corporate practices, our companies are striving to meet the needs of the present, while charting their long-term growth. Ultimately, those that prioritize and meet this responsibility will be best positioned to grow our economy and move our State forward.

In light of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, this work takes on a new urgency. The headline alone stating that “Climate change widespread, rapid, and intensifying” should be enough to make us all step up to the plate and reimagine our future.

Combating climate change will require citizens, government and business to work together. Maine businesses play a vital role in creating innovative solutions to protect our planet. A challenge of this magnitude requires collaboration, not confrontation, to advance the best ideas and policies. Together, we can forge solutions that improve our environment and grow our economy — leaving the world better for generations to come.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Congressional delegation blasts Pew petition calling for closures

August 26, 2021 — Maine’s congressional delegation called on U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to reject a petition to impose seasonal and dynamic closures on parts of the state’s lobster fishery.

The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted a petition to close four areas of lobster fishing in Maine unless lobstermen used so-called “ropeless” fishing gear.

“The petition submitted by Pew undermines our shared goal of both protecting the North Atlantic right whale and ensuring the future viability of our nation’s lobster fishery,” wrote Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) and Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Jared Golden (D-Maine). “Unfortunately, this proposal would have a detrimental economic impact on Maine’s lobster industry and the coastal communities they support, while providing limited risk reduction. It is unfortunate to see this attempted circumvention of NOAA’s established regulatory process when lives, livelihoods, and the survival of an endangered species are on the line.”

Pew petitioned former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in 2020 to call for closures throughout New England waters, including an area Downeast from August to October, to better protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Last month, the organization submitted an updated petition for rulemaking, arguing that action was needed to save the species, which has dipped down to an estimated population of fewer than 356.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Collins joins Maine delegation in seeking Maine lobster industry protections

August 26, 2021 — A new set of federal rules to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale that is close to being finalized could be detrimental to Maine’s critical lobster industry, according to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and a bipartisan, bicameral group of her Maine congressional colleagues.

The forthcoming rules include “hasty, late-breaking changes” that would “significantly harm the livelihoods of communities that depend on fishing and lobstering without meaningfully protecting whales,” Sen. Collins wrote in an Aug. 21 letter sent to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Jared Golden (D-ME) also signed the letter.

Specifically, the lawmakers expressed concerns about newer proposed modifications to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule, which are now under consideration. They cited several modifications that they say could be harmful for the lobster industry, an important economic driver for Maine.

“These changes, as indicated by the Final Environmental Impact Statement, add significant costs to the industry without corresponding gains in conservation and seriously undermine conservation partnerships at state and local levels,” they wrote.

Read the full story at The Ripon Advance

Maine delegation deplores ‘hasty’ changes to whale rules affecting lobster fishery

August 25, 2021 — A set of new rules to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale is on the way to being finalized by the federal government.

But the rules include “hasty, late-breaking changes” that would “significantly harm the livelihoods of communities that depend on fishing and lobstering without meaningfully protecting whales,” U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, said in a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan was first developed in 1997 and has been modified in various ways since then, in an attempt to save the endangered whales from extinction.

The delegation cited several of the newer proposed modifications, now under consideration, as potentially harmful for the lobster industry.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Maine legislators ask feds to reject petition that calls for seasonal lobster closures

August 24, 2021 — Maine’s congressional delegation called on U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to reject a petition to impose seasonal and dynamic closures on parts of the state’s lobster fishery.   

The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted a petition to close four areas of lobster fishing in Maine unless lobstermen used so-called “ropeless” fishing gear.   

“The petition submitted by Pew undermines our shared goal of both protecting the North Atlantic right whale and ensuring the future viability of our nation’s lobster fishery,” wrote Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine) and Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Jared Golden (D-Maine). “Unfortunately, this proposal would have a detrimental economic impact on Maine’s lobster industry and the coastal communities they support, while providing limited risk reduction. It is unfortunate to see this attempted circumvention of NOAA’s established regulatory process when lives, livelihoods, and the survival of an endangered species are on the line.”   

Pew petitioned former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in 2020 to call for closures throughout New England waters, including an area Downeast from August to October, to better protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.   

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander