Maine Archives - Page 211 of 301

How the world’s second largest indoor salmon farm could take shape in Maine

May 11, 2018 — BELFAST, Maine — You might have to squint through the trees to spot the world’s second largest salmon farm in Belfast, according to computer renderings unveiled Wednesday.

Nordic Aquafarms, a Norwegian aquaculture firm, says its due diligence, the process used to determine whether the project would be feasible, is about 90 percent complete, and is ready to start applying for permits.

Nordic hosted its latest information session at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast on Wednesday night.

In its first phase, Nordic would build a 300,000-square-foot building on a 40-acre plot near the Northport town line. The building will be about 10-15 feet shorter than surrounding trees, largely hiding it from view, according to Nordic’s CEO Erik Heim.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Grant awarded to investigate Japanese “ear-hanging” scallop production in Maine

May 11, 2018 — The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a U.S. nonprofit organization established in the 2014 Farm Bill, has awarded a USD 300,000 (EUR) grant for pioneering new scallop production techniques in the state of Maine.

The grant, announced 23 April, is going to Brunswick, Maine-based Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), which will manage the program. CEI offers business advisory services to small businesses as well as financing and project management.

The purpose of the project is to investigate the economic viability of the Japanese “ear-hanging” scallop production technique in Maine. The grant, which will fund a three-year program, will cover market analysis and hiring a consultant with a background in wild scallops.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The Future of Fishing Is Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

May 10, 2018 — New England’s groundfish season is in full swing, as hundreds of dayboat fishermen from Rhode Island to Maine take to the water in search of the region’s iconic cod and haddock. But this year, several dozen of them are hauling in their catch under the watchful eye of video cameras as part of a new effort to use technology to better sustain the area’s fisheries and the communities that depend on them.

Video observation on fishing boats—electronic monitoring—is picking up steam in the Northeast and nationally as a cost-effective means to ensure that fishing vessels aren’t catching more fish than allowed while informing local fisheries management. While several issues remain to be solved before the technology can be widely deployed—such as the costs of reviewing and storing data—electronic monitoring is beginning to deliver on its potential to lower fishermen’s costs, provide scientists with better data, restore trust where it’s broken, and ultimately help consumers gain a greater understanding of where their seafood is coming from.

“Electronic monitoring is a tremendous tool,” says Brett Alger, national electronics technology coordinator for NOAA Fisheries. “It isn’t necessarily for everyone or every fishery,” but “we’re working collaboratively in all of our regions with fishermen on the ground to understand their needs. I expect it to grow.”

The technology is required for highly migratory longline species in the Atlantic (swordfish). It’s thriving in the Pacific coast groundfish industry, and dozens of other fisheries regions have pilot initiatives.

Read the full story at Civil Eats

Changes to US eel fishery up for hearings on East Coast

May 9, 2018 — BREWER, Maine — Interstate fishing managers are considering a host of changes to the way they regulate commercial eel harvesting, and public hearings about the subject are getting started in New York.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is holding the hearings in May and June from Florida to Maine. The first hearing is on Wednesday in New Paltz, New York. The commission is considering making changes to the eel quota system.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Haven Register

NOAA considering letting fishermen take endangered skate

May 9, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Federal fishing managers are considering allowing commercial fishermen to take a species of endangered skate that is currently prohibited.

Fishermen catch skates for use as food and bait on both coasts. They are currently prohibited from possessing barndoor skates, or bringing them to shore. Barndoor skates are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says proposed changes to the skate fishery include an allowance for limited possession of barndoor skates. The new rules weren’t yet in place on May 1, which was the start of the new fishing year, and the skates are still prohibited at the moment.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Post

The Future of Lobstering May Mean Fishing by Computer

May 9, 2018 — The endangered North Atlantic right whale is facing extinction, with fewer than 450 left. The cause of the highest mortality is entanglement in fishing gear, including lobster trap lines. A lawsuit forcing the government to protect the whales may bring about a change in the way lobster fishermen have worked for more than a hundred years.

Lobster fishing used to be pretty straightforward. But there may be big changes ahead for fishermen in New England.

“First thing you have to remember is, you’re taking the lobster industry and flipping it around on its head and shaking it,” Mike Lane said, sitting on his lobster boat in Cohassett Lane. Lane is a life-long fisherman. His dad fished for lobster before him. He’s concerned about the proposals. “How are you going to teach 60-year old men that don’t use computers to use a computer?”

Pretty soon, Lobstermen may be asked to find their traps using computers, instead of buoys. New fishing technology is being developed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale—it’s called ropeless fishing.

Read the full story at WCAI

Maine: Marine cleanup team tangles with 2 tons of ‘ghost gear’ off Cape Elizabeth

May 9, 2018 — A two-ton, decades-old ball of underwater marine debris measuring 15 feet in diameter was pulled from Dyer Cove off Cape Elizabeth on Tuesday, the biggest example of derelict fishing gear recovered from the Gulf of Maine in at least a decade, according to the lobster industry group that removed it.

“Look at it, it’s huge,” said Jim Buxton of Scarborough, the lobsterman and diver who helped raise it. “It has a little of everything. I see gill nets, trawl nets, lobster traps. Every fishery we’ve ever had here and more. Look there at the size of the mesh. That hasn’t been used in decades.”

The Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation has been ridding local waters of so-called “ghost gear” for a decade, culling state waters of more than 5,000 traps during that time, but it is usually done trap by trap, said Executive Director Erin Pelletier. This ball will likely top out at between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

New England Haddock, Pollock and Redfish Trawl Fishery Achieves MSC Certification

May 8, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has certified the New England haddock, pollock and redfish trawl fishery as sustainable.

Portland, Maine-based Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, who spearheaded the MSC certification efforts, confirmed the news on Monday.

“The MSC label is the gold star standard of certification and will assure our customers that these fish stocks are healthy and well managed,” Jim Odlin of Atlantic Trawlers said in a statement. “Our vessels – the Nobska, Morue, Harmony, Teresa Marie III and Teresa Marie IV – also use modified fishing gear to minimize the catch of other stocks, like cod, so we can maximize the catch of haddock, pollock and redfish.”

The MSC assessment concluded that the New England fishery management system is “robust and contains requirements that lead to the fulfillment of MSC principles.” The assessment also found that the fishery has extensive catch accountability and traceability systems, as well as strong science supporting the foundation for “rebuilding and maintaining abundant stocks of haddock and redfish, which were previously overfished.”

This story was originally published by Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

Lobster prices high, but dropping as summer approaches

May 7, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Lobster prices are high in the U.S. right now, but members of the industry expect them to come down soon as the Canadian catch creeps up and America’s summer haul gets going.

One-pound lobsters, which Mainers call “chicks,” are selling for about $12 per pound to consumers, which is a couple of dollars per pound more than six months ago. The U.S. lobster industry, based heavily in Maine, is in a slow mode as fishermen get ready to pull traps in the summer.

The lack of fishing effort and high prices have caused some in the seafood industry to raise the possibility of a shortage, but industry members say quite the opposite is true. Canada’s spring fishing season is just starting to heat up, which means prices already are starting to track back down, industry members said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

Monkfish are indeed fine as quota stays the same in 2018

May 4, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Michelle Wolf is right — the monkfish really are fine.

Federal fishing regulators are allowing fishermen to harvest the same amount of the ugly fish this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration allowed fishermen to catch about 33.8 million pounds of monkfish last year, and says the fishery’s sustainable enough that the number will hold in 2018.

They’re sought by fishermen from Maine to North Carolina and can be less expensive at markets than popular fish such as cod and flounder. Some industry members want to grow interest in monkfish.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Raleigh News & Observer