Saving Seafood

Cunner, climate, and concern: Study digs into lobster questions

April 22, 2026 — Along Maine’s coast, a familiar fish is raising new questions for lobstermen.

Researchers at the University of Maine (UMaine) are taking a closer look at whether cunner fish– long known to share habitat with lobsters– may be preying on them in a new way, particularly targeting egg-bearing females. The work is being led by fisheries scientist Michelle Staudinger, backed by a National Geographic Society grant aimed at studying keystone species and emerging ecosystems shifts.

Cunner aren’t new to the Gulf of Maine. The small, colorful fish have always fed on young lobsters in their early benthic stages, along with clams and snails. But recently, fishermen and the Maine Department of Marine Resources have reported cunner showing up in traps, and in some cases with lobster eggs in their mouths, raising concerns about potential impacts to the fishery.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

April 2026 Council Meeting Summary

April 22, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council met from April 14-16, 2026, in Portland, Maine. The following is a summary of actions taken and issues considered during the meeting. Presentations, meeting materials, motions, and meeting audio recordings are available on the Council’s April 2026 meeting page.

ACROSS THE STOCKS

Monkfish and Skates: The Council considered input from the Joint Advisory Panels and Committees and voted to discontinue the 2026 priority related to IFQ Scoping for monkfish and/or skate wing fisheries. The Council approved a series of listening sessions for monkfish and skate fishermen across New England and the Mid-Atlantic to solicit input and ideas for fisheries and management improvements. Read the full press release here.

Herring: The Council received an update on the 2026 herring action that will:

• Set Atlantic herring specifications for fishing years 2027-2031.

• Enhance river herring and shad (American shad and hickory shad) avoidance and other catch reduction measures to support ongoing coastwide restoration efforts.

• Address other management measures such as the carryover of unharvested catch. This action will be initiated in June with Council final action planned for the September 2026 meeting.

Redfish Sector Exemption Review: The Council received a report evaluating the performance of the Redfish Sector Exemption program. This program allows commercial trawl vessels enrolled in sectors to target redfish with smaller mesh gear in designated areas. It was established as a universal sector exemption in the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in Framework 61. The review found generally strong sector compliance with catch thresholds and stable participation. It also examined bycatch of other groundfish, vessellevel performance, and program goals and objectives. The review was a regulatory requirement and a 2026 Council Priority. Based on information from the review, the Council may consider modifications to the redfish sector exemption program in the future.

Groundfish Action Update: Framework 69, which set specifications for several groundfish stocks for fishing years 2025-2027, was implemented on March 8, 2026. Amendment 25 (A25), which incorporates the four Atlantic cod stocks (Eastern Gulf of Maine; Western Gulf of Maine; Georges Bank; and Southern New England) into the Northeast Multispecies FMP and sets status determination criteria and management measures for these stocks, including accountability measures, recreational provisions, and catch limits for fishing years 2026 and 2027, was approved by NMFS on April 6, 2026. The action received broad public support, with over 250 comments largely favoring timely approval and implementation. Final implementing regulations are forthcoming, with interim default allocations expected to be in place until the rule is finalized. Framework 72, which will set specifications for several groundfish stocks for FY2026-2028, is currently in review with anticipated implementation in the coming months.

Read the full release here

Senator Collins’ Statement on the Creation of the USDA Office of Seafood

April 17, 2026 — The following was released by the Office of U.S. Senator Susan Collins:

U.S. Senator Susan Collins released the following statement announcing the creation of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Seafood:

“Fishing is the very foundation of Maine’s heritage. Today, the seafood industry in our region generates more than $5 billion in income and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, in addition to providing a nutritious food supply, delicious restaurant meals, and sustaining entire coastal communities. I appreciate that USDA is recognizing our fishermen as farmers of the sea and establishing the Office of Seafood. The creation of this office is a long-overdue, essential step to expanding seats at the table for our hardworking fishing families, who are a key piece of our nation’s history and our future as well.”

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The USDA Office of Seafood will expand federal support for America’s fishermen and seafood harvesters, and ensure fishermen, small businesses, and coastal communities have greater access to USDA programs. It will also coordinate across USDA agencies to ensure fishermen are able to interact directly with the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal partners to revitalize the American seafood industry.

Senator Collins has been a strong advocate for Maine’s fishermen and women and the seafood industry. Senator Collins led the Maine delegation in securing a provision in the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations legislation that protected the Maine lobster fishery from unfair federal regulation for six years. Since the enactment of this provision, Senator Collins has secured more than $80 million in funding for North Atlantic Right Whale research and monitoring through her role on the Senate Appropriations Committee. This research supports Maine’s lobster industry by improving the quality of the data used to inform federal regulations.

Senator Collins also led efforts to rebuild Maine’s working waterfronts. After back-to-back storms in January 2024 that caused significant damage to Maine’s coast, Senator Collins secured $15 million to help communities recover from coastal infrastructure damage in the Fiscal Year 2024 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act. The legislation included $10 million, administered through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, to repair and renovate infrastructure affected by recent storms, and $5 million to establish a new program at the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for working waterfronts.

The announcement came during the week of the fiftieth anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Act—the primary law governing marine fisheries in U.S. federal waters.

NGOM scallop season wraps up at derby pace

April 15, 2026 — The 2026 Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) scallop season came to a close just 12 days after opening, as NOAA Fisheries shut down the high-value spring fishery effective April 13 at 12:01 a.m.

The quick turnaround comes as little surprise to fishermen who entered the season expecting a fast burn under a significantly reduced quota. For 2026, total allowable landings were set for 484,753 pounds, with a usable set-aside of 437,867 pounds after research and observer deductions– down sharply from 675,563 pounds in 2025.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Fishing safety trainings offered

April 15, 2026 — This spring, the Fishing Partnership Support Services team has teamed up with local partners Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Green and White Hope, New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and Sunrise Economic Council to bring its free safety programming to Maine fishermen. The team will be holding Safety and Drill Conductor training in May at the following locations:

May 18-19, Eastport Port Authority, 141 Water Street, Eastport

May 21-22, USCG Station Southwest Harbor, 184 Clarke Point Road, Southwest Harbor

Trainings are designed specifically for commercial fishermen and lobstermen, including captains and crewmen, and are also helpful for family members, including children, who may join trips. Each day of training provides hands-on opportunities to learn or hone fundamental skills to fish more safely.

Read the full article at The Ellesworth America

MAINE: Charting a course for electric boats on Maine’s coast

April 14, 2026 — Getting vessels to convert to electric or hybrid power is kind of a chicken or the egg problem, according to Lia Morris, leader of the Marine Decarbonization program at the Island Institute in Rockland, Maine.

“Boats aren’t going to convert unless there’s infrastructure,” says Morris. “We wanted to see what that would look like, so we commissioned a study with Homarus Strategies and Haley Ward Inc. There are so many parts to the puzzle. We wanted to see what type of vessels and which ports along the Maine coast would be best for going electric.”

Noah Oppenheim, the principal at Homarus Strategies, has been at the interface of fisheries and fisheries policy for the past decade. He compiled a detailed report outlining the requirements for creating the charging infrastructure needed to support an increasing number of electric and hybrid boats in various use scenarios, including ferries, aquaculture, and commercial fishing.

Oppenheim and the research team looked at things like distance from the grid, number of boats that could be served, the likelihood that the boats in a harbor would want to use electric power, and whether the harbor lent itself to hosting the necessary infrastructure. “We scored the ports along the coast and created a map of the most viable locations,” he says, noting that the map of those towns is in the report.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA closing Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area on Monday morning

April 13, 2026 — Just a dozen days after it opened, NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective Monday at 12:01 a.m.

As of Monday, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area, NOAA said.

NOAA set the total allowable landing limit at 484,753 pounds for the season, down from 675,563 pounds in 2025. Scallop regulations require closure of the management area once NOAA projects that 100% of the 2026 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside — 437,867 pounds in 2026 — will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year on March 31, 2027.

MAINE: Maine senators raise red flags on ropeless gear mandate

April 10, 2026 — Maine’s two U.S. senators are pushing back on federal efforts to make ropeless gear the centerpiece of North Atlantic right whale conservation, warning that forcing an unproven technology on the lobster fleet could devastate the fishery.

In a letter to Eugenio Piñero Soler, assistant administrator for fisheries at the National Marine Fisheries Service, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, urged the agency to take lobstermen’s concerns seriously and pursue flexible alternatives before pursuing any new rulemaking.

“A single, uniform solution, particularly one that mandates technology that is not yet proven at scale, is not the right path forward for this fishery or for the conservation goals we share,” the senators wrote.

The letter followed the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in early March, where Soler heard directly from lobstermen about the practical barriers to ropeless fishing. The senators echoed what they heard on the ground: small vessels don’t have the capital, deck space, crew, or familiarity with high-tech systems to absorb a forced transition. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has estimated that transition costs alone would run at least $45 million industry-wide.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

MAINE: Collins, King raise ropeless gear concerns to federal policymakers

April 10, 2026 — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) are calling for continued engagement with Maine’s seafood industry stakeholders. In a letter to Eugenio Piñero Soler, assistant administrator for fisheries at the National Marine Fisheries Service, the senators urge NMFS to heed the well-founded concerns expressed by Maine’s lobstermen and fishermen regarding ropeless gear and to include them in any further regulatory discussions.

“Maine lobstermen’s concerns about ropeless gear are well-documented and deserve serious consideration. It is important to give full and meaningful weight to concerns raised by fishermen regarding ropeless/on-demand fishing gear as NMFS’s core strategy for North Atlantic right whale (NARW) conservation. We urge you to continue to explore other options, such as Dynamic Area Management with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and strongly encourage you to continue engaging fishermen directly as your agency approaches new rulemaking on this issue,” the senators wrote.

Read the full article at the Mount Dessert Islander