Saving Seafood

MAINE: Scallop aquaculture offers promising opportunity for Maine’s working waterfronts

March 11, 2026 — The Fishermen’s Forum has always been a place where innovation and new opportunities are discussed, and this year’s edition was no exception.

On Saturday afternoon, UMaine postdoctoral researcher Phoebe Jekielek moderated a Maine Scallop Farming Roundtable, which brought together four Maine sea farmers currently growing scallops. The group’s experience and methods ranged from veteran scallop farmer Marsden Brewer from Pen Bay Farmed Scallops to smaller-scale operations such as Greg Foote’s Dirigo Marine Services and Michael Scannel’s Saco Bay Sea Farms.

In the last few decades, Maine Sea Grant and UMaine have dedicated efforts to building a scallop aquaculture sector. With Brewer’s help, they have fostered a relationship with sea farmers in Japan, where scallops are a key product of their seafood industry. A recent trip to Japan offered some of the panelists an opportunity to learn about state-of-the-art technologies and farm setups, and much of that knowledge was shared at the scallop roundtable.

After the panelists introduced themselves and their farms, Jekielek opened the floor to questions from the audience.

Read the full article a Mount Dessert Islander

MAINE: Maine lobster landings down again after 2010s boom

March 10, 2026 — Maine lobster harvesters took over 21,000 fewer fishing trips last year, which likely contributed to another decline in total lobster landings.

That’s according to preliminary data released Friday from the Maine Department of Marine Resources

Maine’s lobsterman landed 78.8 million total pounds in 2025, which topped all other fisheries in the state, but is about seven million pounds less than the 2024 harvest.

DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson said the decline represents a return to normalcy after a major boom in the 2010s.

“78, 79 million pounds of lobster; that would have been absolutely celebrated as just amazing,” he said. “But when you had the spikes as high as we did in 2015, 2016… when you start to return to Earth, it hits a little bit different.”

Read the full article at Maine Public

MAINE: Maine’s catch of lobster declines again as high costs and climate change impact industry

March 9, 2026 — Maine’s catch of lobsters declined for the fourth straight year, state fishing regulators said Friday, as the industry continued to grapple with soaring business costs, inflation and a changing ocean.

The haul of lobsters, Maine’s best known export and a key piece of the state’s identity and culture, has declined every year since 2021, and some scientists have cited as a reason warming oceans that spur migration to Canadian waters.

The sector brought in 78.8 million pounds (35.7 million kilograms) of lobsters in 2025, down from more than 110 million pounds (49.9 million kilograms) in 2021, regulators said. It was the lowest total since 2008.

Inflation hit the industry hard last year, and there were more than 21,000 fewer fishing trips than in 2024, according to Carl Wilson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Market uncertainty due to tariffs and a late start to the busy portion of the fishing season also played roles, he said.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Framework finally implemented as Gulf of Maine haddock quota increase takes effect

March 9, 2026 — After weeks of frustration from New England groundfish sector managers and stop-fishing notices for some vessels, Framework 69 has finally been approved and implemented by federal regulators.

According to a March 5 notice from NOAA Fisheries, the agency approved Framework Adjustment 69 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and announced final catch limits for fishing year 2025. The action officially went into effect March 9.

Framework 69 establishes annual catch limits and management measures for multiple groundfish stocks, including a significant increase to the Gulf of Maine haddock quota– an increase fishermen have been waiting on for months.

The approval comes after mounting pressure from industry leaders who argued the delay was forcing boats to tie up during one of the most productive fishing periods of the year. Just days before NOAA issues its final notice, six New England groundfish sector managers formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service for relief, calling the delay in approving the framework “frankly ridiculous.”

At the time, several sectors had already begun issuing stop-fishing notices after vessels exhausted their Gulf of Maine haddock allocations under the interim limits.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: Maine fishing industry continues to reel in big money despite fewer lobsters being caught

March 9, 2026 — New numbers released Friday show Maine’s fishing industry continues to reel in big money, topping half a billion dollars now for a 14th straight year.

Lobster is still king, topping all fisheries, with nearly 79 million pounds hauled in last year.

However, 2025 was Maine’s lowest lobster catch in 17 years. Local lobstermen say it’s not because there are fewer lobsters in the sea, just fewer fishermen to catch them.

Read the full article at WGME

Maine commercial fisheries topped $600M in 2025, led by the lobster industry

March 6, 2026 — Maine’s commercial fishermen earned more than $619 million in 2025, marking the 14th consecutive year the state’s fisheries have surpassed $500 million in value, according to preliminary data released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR).

Harvesters earned $619,053,489 last year, driven largely by the state’s lobster industry.

“Once again, Maine fishermen and sea farmers in 2025 delivered premium products sought by consumers around the world who value nutritious, sustainably harvested seafood,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement.

Lobster remained Maine’s most valuable fishery by far. Harvesters landed 78.8 million pounds of American lobster in 2025, with a total value of $461.4 million. The average boat price was $5.85 per pound, the third-highest on record.

Still, officials say inflation and other pressures affected the industry. DMR Commissioner Carl Wilson said that when adjusted for inflation, the overall value of the lobster fishery was closer to what harvesters earned in 2008.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

MAINE: Thousands gather for 51st annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport

March 6, 2026 — The annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum kicked off in Rockport on Thursday. The multi-day event aims to provide education to help strengthen Maine’s marine industry.

A melting pot of fishermen, researchers, scientists, and more, that’s how organizers described the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum.

“Dealers, harvesters, educators, everyone at the table having a voice, and it’s not dock talk, it’s fact-based,” said Katie Werner, Vice President of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. “Every year there’s different hot topics that are happening in the blue economy, and we want to make sure that the forum has the most opportune time to get whatever is happening, education-based, scientific-based, wherever, whatever we’re on top of it.”

Read the full article at Fox 22 

Congressional investment in science essential to protect our ocean

March 4, 2026 — Deborah Bronk is the president and CEO of the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay. Glenn Prickett is president and CEO of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland. Other organizations in the MOVE coalition include Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership, Maine Aquaculture Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Island Institute, Herring Gut Coastal Science Center, and The Ocean Foundation.

Federal science funding affects Maine in concrete ways. It supports conservation of valuable ecosystems in Wells, aids ground fishermen in Portland in managing stocks, helps an aquaculture farm in Brunswick reduce noise and air pollution, and gives towns like Machias the information they need to plan for storms and flooding. Those activities — and countless others like them — support jobs, local businesses, and economic stability across the state.

In Maine, science funding is closely tied to industries that depend on the marine environment. Fisheries, aquaculture, marine technology, tourism, recreation, and coastal planning all rely on consistent, authoritative data, applied research, and a skilled workforce. These are the same blue economy sectors Maine has identified as key to long-term growth, and, together, they are helping build a strong ocean-based economy while supporting education, workforce development, and planning needs that benefit the whole state.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

MAINE: UMaine taps into satellite data to help oyster farmers

March 4, 2026 — The University of Maine is rolling out a free satellite-driven model to help oyster farmers predict when their crop will reach market size, bringing high-tech precision to the hunt for the best tidal sites along the state’s coast.

Using satellite data from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey and the European Space Agency, the model is the foundation of a January research study in the journal Aquaculture. The accuracy was verified by testing it against oyster growth rates at five Maine oyster farms.

The online dashboard is coming out at a time when Maine’s oyster sector is booming.

Between 2015 and 2024, the value of Maine’s wild and farmed oysters jumped from $4.5 million to $14.9 million, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. According to the department’s most recent landings data, oysters are now Maine’s third-most valuable fishery, behind lobsters and soft-shell clams. Ninety-five percent of those landings are farmed oysters; wild oysters make up the rest.

Read the full article at Portland Press Herald

Stop-fishing notices spread as haddock delay drags on

March 4, 2026 — It has been almost a week since six New England groundfish sector managers formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for relief on Framework 69, and, from the industry’s perspective, nothing has changed.

In a Feb. 27 letter addressed to Michael Pentony, regional administrator for NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, the managers called the delay in approving Framework 69 “frankly ridiculous,” noting that there are only nine weeks (now eight weeks) left in the fishing year and that vessels are already being forced to stop fishing in the Gulf of Maine.

“We the undersigned Northeast groundfish sector managers petition for relief from the frankly ridiculous delay in what should have been a belated but routine approval of groundfish Framework 69,” the letter states.

Framework 69, approved by the New England Fishery Management Council in December 2024 and submitted to NMFS in March 2025, would increase the Gulf of Maine haddock quota by roughly 50 percent over the prior fishing year. But with the action still awaiting final signoff in Washington, D.C., that additional quota remains inaccessible on the water.

In the meantime, sector managers say they are running out of options.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman