Saving Seafood

MAINE: Maine Democrat backs partial offshore wind ban

January 24, 2025 — Maine Democrat Jared Golden reintroduced a bill to ban offshore wind in a lobster fishing zone in his state, bucking other Democrats who are seeing red on President Donald Trump’s blanket ban on new wind power leases.

The bill, dubbed the “Northern Fisheries Heritage Protection Act of 2025” would block offshore wind development in Lobster Management Area 1, a fishing area that runs from the Canadian border to the north shore of Cape Cod. Golden introduced the bill with Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), who has become one of the most vocal offshore wind opponents in Congress.

Golden said the development of offshore wind in the fishing area threatens the viability of lobster fishing — a bedrock industry for his state.

Read the full article at E&E News

MASSACHUSETTS: Unlike other New England states, Massachusetts supports controversial new lobster harvesting rules

January 23, 2025 — Massachusetts officials say they support a new lobster harvesting rule aimed at conserving young lobster populations, which have been in decline off New England’s coast amid climate change and other pressures.

The new rules, which have drawn opposition by the lobster industry, would further restrict the size of lobsters that can be legally harvested. Maine and New Hampshire officials recently rejected the measure, but Massachusetts officials voiced strong support, saying it would help preserve the future of New England’s signature crustacean.

The measure “would have clear benefits to the lobster stock long-term,” said Daniel McKiernan, director of Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Fisheries. “We are committed to working through this situation to reach a resolution that is supportive of both conservation and Massachusetts’ leading lobster industry.”

US Representative Jared Golden, a Democrat whose Maine district includes Bangor, opposed the rule from its first introduction. He said the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission should potentially have less power.

“Lobstermen must have a seat at the table in crafting the rules for their industry,” said Golden, adding: “Mainers harvest more than 90 percent of all lobster caught in this country, and I cannot for the life of me understand why people in the mid-Atlantic should get a say in how we manage our fishery in the Gulf of Maine.”

Read the full article at the Boston Globe

Golden, Van Drew introduce bill to guarantee critical Gulf of Maine fishing waters are protected from offshore wind development

January 23, 2025 — Congressmen Jared Golden (ME-02) and Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02) today introduced the bipartisan Northern Fisheries Heritage Protection Act of 2025. The bill would prohibit commercial offshore wind energy development in Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA1), which includes nearly 14,000 square miles of nearshore fishing waters from the U.S.-Canada maritime border to the north shore of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

“Maine’s fishermen deserve to know that waters critical to our historic, high-value industry are protected — not by promises, but by federal law,” Golden said. “Protecting the bountiful natural resources of LMA1 from development will preserve our way of life, local economies and communities. President Trump’s recent Executive Order provides some measure of reprieve, but we need a more permanent solution.”

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily halting all leasing of federal waters for offshore wind development — a reversal of former President Joseph Biden’s pro-offshore wind regime. The Northern Heritage Fisheries Protection Act of 2025 would take protections for Maine’s fisheries out of the discretion of the chief executive and codify it into law.

“Offshore wind projects are a direct threat to our fisheries, marine ecosystems, and coastal communities,” said Van Drew, the lead Republican co-sponsor of the bill. “They are expensive, destructive and outright unwanted. I am proud to be a co-lead on this bill to permanently protect these vital waters and ensure they are never sacrificed to these reckless developments.”

Read the full article at WAGM

MAINE: Maine fishermen chosen for experimental shrimp season

January 23, 2025 — For the first time in over a decade, Maine fishermen will return to the water in pursuit of northern shrimp, marking a cautious revival of a long-cherished winter fishery.

The experimental shrimp season, scheduled to begin in February, is part of a research initiative by the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) in collaboration with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). This limited program aims to gather crucial data on the shrimp population and assess the species’ recovery after years of decline caused by warming waters in the Gulf of Maine.

Seven fishermen were selected from more than 40 applicants to participate in the program. Four will fish using trawls—Justin Libby of Port Clyde, Dana Hammond II and David Osier of South Bristol, and Robert Tetrault II of Portland—while three, Adam Gamage and Andrew House of South Bristol and William McLain of Pemaquid, will use traps. According to DMR, each fisherman has been assigned to one of three fishing zones: Kittery to Phippsburg, Phippsburg to Owls Head, or east of Owls Head.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

MAINE: Nordic Aquafarms scraps embattled salmon farm in Maine

January 22, 2025 — Norway-headquartered aquaculture firm Nordic Aquafarms has abandoned its years-long fight to build a recirculating aquaculture system [RAS] salmon farm in Belfast, Maine, U.S.A.

“It’s a sad day for Maine’s economy and the outlook for aquaculture and any significant investment in the state,” Nordic Aquafarms U.S. CEO Brenda Chandler said in a release. “While a few may view this as a victory, we argue that this is a significant loss overall, not just for Nordic Aquafarms but for the community. The expanded tax base for Belfast was significant; new jobs for the area were significant; and Maine’s leadership in aquaculture-born solutions is also significant.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Ayotte says New Hampshire won’t comply with new lobster minimum size guidelines

January 22, 2025 — New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte said Tuesday that New Hampshire will not comply with new guidelines that she said would hurt the state’s lobster industry.

In a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Ayotte said New Hampshire will not adopt new guidelines that increase the minimum size for lobsters caught in the Gulf of Maine.

“Complying with these guidelines could lead to a loss of a third of lobstermen’s catch this year at a time when lobstermen are already facing declining yields,” Ayotte said in the letter. “Moreover, our lobster industry helps drive summer tourism, with visitors flocking from all over to visit New Hampshire’s historic lobster pounds.”

The guidelines would increase the minimum size for catchable lobsters over the next two year

Read the full article at WMUR

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