Saving Seafood

Over 75 right whales – 20% of endangered population – spotted off Maine coast

January 16, 2025 — Dozens of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the Gulf of Maine this week, researchers from the New England Aquarium said Thursday.

An aerial survey team from the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life spotted the whales on Jan. 12 and 13, counting more than 75 unique individuals. Only around 370 right whales remain in existence, meaning the sightings account for around 20% of the population. The whales were gathered and feeding near the western edge of Jeffreys Ledge, where they’ve been seen in the past.

Many of the whales are known to researchers, including Millipede,” an adult female who had a calf in 2021, and “Loki,” an adult of unknown sex who has been seen just six times in 20 years and only in New England waters, and “Nimbus”, a 16-year-old male who was entangled in fishing rope in 2023.

Read the full article at NBC Boston

NH and Maine lobstermen push back against new size rule amid economic fears

January 15, 2025 — A new regulation on catchable lobster size could significantly reduce lobster hauls this summer, according to industry members, with local lawmakers expressing concerns about its impact on the Seacoast economy.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which oversees certain species along the Atlantic coast, is implementing a change that will increase the minimum size for catchable lobsters in states including Maine and New Hampshire over the next two years.

The regulation involves an increase in the size of the gauge used by fishermen to measure lobster length to determine if they can be caught or must be released. The minimum gauge size will rise from 3.25 inches to 3.375 inches by July 1, 2025, as stated by the ASMFC. This size will further increase to 3.5 inches by July 1, 2027.

Read the full article at Seacoastonline

MAINE: Marine Resources Commissioner pulls proposed regulation to increase the legal lobster size

January 14, 2025 — The head of the Maine Department of Marine Resources said the agency is dropping a controversial proposal to increase the minimum size for lobster.

Commissioner Pat Keliher announced the change Thursday night during a heated public meeting with lobstermen in Augusta. Federal fisheries regulators approved the minimum size increase in response to studies showing sharp declines in young lobster in the Gulf of Maine. But lobstermen have questioned that data and predicted the change will benefit Canadian lobstermen.

Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, a lobsterman from Winter Harbor, said DMR’s shift is quote “great news.”

“Lobstermen turned out by the hundreds to oppose this. We were going to get devastated by Canada taking our lobsters if we had implemented this without an agreement with them. So it’s good to put a pause on this rule and keep our market in tact,” Faulkingham said.

Read the full article at Maine Public

MAINE: Maine officials say noncompliance with regional lobster size standards could limit exports

January 14, 2025 — Maine lobstermen are “off the hook” when it comes to new catch size restrictions.

The decision to shelf the new restriction came after a tense meeting with Maine lobstermen where a state leader swore at a man in the audience.

“It’s uncharted waters,” New England Fisherman’s Stewardship Association COO Dustin Delano said.

It’s a decision that will affect all Maine lobsterman.

The argument about Maine’s minimum lobster size got choppy at Thursday night’s Department of Marine Resources public hearing,

DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher got into a heated exchange with fishermen about changing minimum lobster gauge limitations.

Read the full article at WGME

Plan for stricter lobster fishing rules scrapped amid strong opposition from lobstermen

January 13, 2024 — Fishing regulators on Friday scrapped a plan for stricter fishing rules amid concerns about a decline in baby lobsters in the warming waters off New England.

The regulators were looking to institute a new rule that fishermen need to abide by a larger minimum size for the lobsters they trap. The change is only 1/16th of an inch or 1.6 millimeters, but regulators have said it will help preserve the population of the valuable crustaceans, as many small lobsters will need to be tossed back to the ocean.

Some fishermen have argued the change is unnecessary and will be disruptive to one of the country’s most lucrative seafood industries when it is already stressed by warming waters, surging expenses and new rules to protect whales. They’ve argued for the new rules to be delayed or tossed out.

Read the full article at the Associated Press 

MASSACHSUETTS: Lobster group hopes state follows Maine, scraps stricter fishing rules

January 13, 2025 — Maine fishing regulators on Friday scrapped a plan for stricter fishing rules amid concerns about a decline in baby lobsters in the warming waters off New England, and a group representing Massachusetts lobstermen hopes this state follows suit.

The regulators were looking to institute a new federal rule, Addendum 27, that fishermen need to abide by a larger minimum size for the lobsters they trap. The change is only 1/16th of an inch or 1.6 millimeters, but regulators have said it will help preserve the population of the valuable crustaceans, as many small lobsters will need to be tossed back to the ocean.

Read the full article at the Gloucester Daily Times

MAINE: State of Maine sides with lobstermen, decides to pull minimum lobster size rule

January 10, 2025 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources has decided to pull a regulation that would have increased the minimum allowable catch size for lobsters amid strong opposition from members of the state’s lobster industry.

Dozens of lobstermen voiced their concerns during a public hearing about the proposed rule change, which would have increased the minimum catch size from 3 1/4 inches to 3 5/16 inches. The lobstermen argued the change of a sixteenth of an inch may seem small, but they feared it would have resulted in significant financial losses for their businesses.

In a statement, DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher said he decided to pull the regulation with the approval of Gov. Janet Mills following Thursday night’s hearing after lobstermen made it “loud and clear” they were unified in their opposition to the rule change.

Read the full article at WMTW

MAINE: Maine lobstermen to voice concerns over new size regulations at public hearing

January 9, 2025 — A public hearing will be held on Thursday in Augusta about new regulations for lobstermen that would increase the minimum lobster size they can harvest.

The lobster industry is an economic driver in the state and some Maine lobstermen worry the industry will sink with new regulations that would change the minimum size of a lobster harvested by fractions of an inch, from 3 and 1/4 inches to 3 and 5/16 inches.

The rule is set to go into effect on July 1.

Read the full article at WGME

 

Maine Lobstering Union’s Lobster 207 wins $5M settlement

January 9, 2025 — The Maine Lobstering Union’s cooperative, Lobster 207, recently closed a significant chapter with a settlement exceeding $5 million, marking the end of a five-year legal battle against its former CEO, Warren Pettegrow, and his family.

This victory represents not only a financial win but also a pivotal moment in the co-op’s mission to uphold fairness in Maine’s famed lobster industry.

According to Maine Biz, the dispute began after Lobster 207 purchased the wholesale division of Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound in 2017, bringing Warren Pettegrow on as CEO. The Pettegrows agreed to step away from the wholesale business to avoid competition with Lobster 207. However, by 2019, allegations of financial misconduct and breaches of this agreement surfaced, leading to a lawsuit in federal court. The co-op accused the Pettegrows of fraudulent practices, which included issuing false invoices and competing directly with the business they had sold to Lobster 207.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

MAINE: Select group of Maine’s fishing industry will get rare chance to catch Northern Shrimp

January 8, 2025 — Dozens of fishermen have applied for a rare chance to catch Northern Shrimp once again, after the population has been off limits for over a decade.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources will soon select just seven members of Maine’s fishing industry to participate in a winter sampling research program for northern shrimp.

In partnership with the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission Northern Shrimp Board, it aims to collect data for the stock assessment to determine if the moratorium that began in 2013 can be lifted.

The moratorium was put in place due to low population levels that scientist attribute to climate change.

Read the full article at Fox 22