February 19, 2025 — The longtime Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources is stepping down.
Governor Mills announced Tuesday that Patrick Keliher will be retiring on March 14.
Stricter lobster fishing rules scrapped after complaints from fishermen about harm to industry
February 10, 2024 — Fishing industry regulators have decided to scrap stricter new lobster fishing standards off New England in the wake of months of protest from lobster fishermen that the rules were unnecessary and would bankrupt harvesters.
The regulators were planning to institute new rules this summer that increased the minimum legal harvest size for lobsters in some of the most important fishing grounds in the world. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council, which manages the fishery, said the changes were important to preserve the future of a lobster population that has shown recent signs of decline.
Many commercial fishermen adamantly opposed the changes, which would have required them to throw back previously market-ready lobsters. An arm of the commission voted on Feb. 4 to initiate a repeal of the new rules in the face of “fervent industry concerns about the potential economic impacts” of the changes, the commission said in a statement.
MAINE: Nordic’s Maine salmon RAS ambitions are dead, but local community’s debate over value of project lives on
February 10, 2025 — Nordic Aquafarms’ seven-year quest to build a major recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) salmon farm in Belfast, Maine, came to an end in January 2025, when the company announced it was cancelling its plans after Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled the firm did not legally own a parcel of intertidal land through which it needed to run pipes for the project.
The case was brought before the court by Belfast residents Jeffrey Mabee and Judith Grace, who argued that they were the rightful owners of the disputed land, which the company had previously attempted to purchase and then sought to claim through eminent domain.
ASMFC repeals proposed gauge increase
February 5, 2025 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission(ASMFC) sided with New England lobstermen and voted to repeal the proposed increase to the minimum allowable cast size of lobsters in the Gulf of Maine.
On Friday, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries announced at the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association meeting that it would join Maine and New Hampshire in rejecting the gauge increase.
Maine and New Hampshire decided to withdraw the increase following strong opposition from the fishing community in both states. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell called for the repeal of the gauge increase. In a letter to ASMFC on Feb. 3, Mayor Mitchell warned that the rule would place U.S. lobster fishermen at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to Canadian counterparts.
New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) COO Dustin Delano commented on the final decision, “NEFSA thanks the commission for hearing the voice of lobstermen. Raising catch sizes at this time would bankrupt many lobstermen and surrender the U.S. market to foreign competitors. NEFSA is grateful that the commission has chosen to support our historic trade, which contributes billions to New England’s economy and shapes the character of the region.”
MAINE: Officials identify body pulled from sunken fishing vessel
February 5, 2025 — The body recovered on Sunday from the sunken fishing vessel “Sudden Impact” has been identified.
According to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified Chester Barrett of South Addison.
As WABI has previously reported, Barrett and his son Aaron, both fishermen from South Addison, were lost at sea on Jan.18.
Proposal to change catch sizes for lobster repealed
February 5, 2025 — A controversial proposal looking to increase the minimum catch sizes for lobster has officially been repealed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
The vote happened Tuesday and came a month after the Maine Department of Marine Resources announced it wouldn’t be following the new rules due to push back from local lobstermen.
Maine and NH lobstermen celebrate reversal of lobster catch size limits
February 4, 2025 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have walked back new regulations that New Hampshire and Maine lobstermen said would have dire economic consequences to their industry.
The commission voted Tuesday to repeal key elements of a proposed increase to minimum allowable catch sizes for Gulf of Maine lobster. The announcement comes after officials in Maine and New Hampshire, which together account for most of U.S. lobster landings, announced they would not cooperate with the proposal.
“New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) thanks the commission for heeding the voice of lobstermen,” said NEFSA COO and fourth-generation lobsterman Dustin Delano. “Raising catch sizes at this time would bankrupt many lobstermen and surrender the U.S. market to foreign competitors. NEFSA is grateful that the commission has chosen to support our historic trade, which contributes billions to New England’s economy and shapes the character of the region.”
MAINE: Body recovered from missing Maine fishermen’s sunken fishing vessel
February 3, 2025 –A team of volunteer divers recovered a body from inside the cabin of sunken fishing vessel Sudden Impact, which was carrying two Maine fishermen who have been missing for multiple weeks.
On Jan. 18, a 34-foot scallop vessel carrying Chester Barrett and his son, Aaron Barrett, changed course due to poor sea conditions and did not arrive at its expected destination.
The two fishermen had left Cobscook Bay State Park around 5 a.m. that day. They had been expected to return home to South Addison from Edmunds that evening.
Trump tariffs worry lobster fishermen in Maine and Canada
January 31, 2025 — Leaders from the U.S. and Canada’s lobster fishing communities came together in Bar Harbor Wednesday to tackle what they said are pressing issues facing the industry.
At the top of mind at this year’s 21st annual meeting was the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Canadian products.
“These tariffs, if they actually happen, will badly impact Maine harvesters and the Maine lobster sector — just as it will impact Canadians,” said Geoff Irvine, the executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.
Solving this issue could mean lobbying U.S. political figures, Irvine said.
Appeals court reinstates lobster fishing limits to preserve right whales
January 31, 2025 — Conservation groups are praising a recent decision to reinstate protections for endangered North Atlantic right whales in a particularly precarious stretch of ocean off the coast of Massachusetts.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston decided Thursday to restrict lobster fishing, which in turn restores protections for endangered right whales. That decision overturned a district court verdict by reinstating a 2024 National Marine Fisheries Service rule that cordoned off a 200 square mile area of federal waters between February and April, when right whales are present.
“The First Circuit’s decision represents a major victory for right whale conservation,” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, who argued the case for conservation groups. “The wedge closure affects only a handful of lobstermen for three months but protects right whales from the deadly fishing gear entanglements driving this species towards extinction.”
Found along the East Coast, the whales’ migratory paths overlap with highly productive lobster fishing areas in Maine and Massachusetts, making entanglements in fishing gear one of the major threats for the animals. With a population of less than 400 and even fewer reproductively active females, right whales are approaching extinction with more than half a dozen threats to their existence, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
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