February 15, 2024 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources, in cooperation with the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation, seeks four industry participants for the Regional Ventless Trap Program through a competitive bid process. This is an opportunity to participate in a cooperative research project between industry and scientists from Maine through Rhode Island.
Rope Found on Dead Right Whale is From Maine
February 14, 2024 — The rope embedded in the tail of a dead young right whale that washed up on the Vineyard last month is consistent with buoy lines used by trap fishermen in Maine, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
An analysis of the rope recovered from the whale found purple markings that are used to identify trap fishing gear from the Pine Tree State, NOAA wrote in a statement Wednesday. The finding is another clue into the whale’s death, though final results from the investigation led by the International Fund for Animal Welfare have yet to be released.
Preliminary results show the whale suffered from chronic entanglement. The whale’s death was a blow to the species, which now has dwindled to fewer than 360 whales.
“Entanglements are a constant threat to right whales, cutting their lives short and painting a disheartening future for this species,” Conservation Law Foundation senior counsel Erica Fuller said in a statement.
MAINE: Maine Grants $2.1 Million for preserving the working waterfront
February 10, 2024 — Maine Legislature approved $2.1 million in funds for working waterfront protection. Lands for Maine’s Future (LMF) and the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) will accept proposals for projects to protect further and secure commercial fishing access in Maine. Proposals will be accepted through a June 28 deadline.
The Working Waterfront Access Protection Program (WWAPP) funds given to winning proposals can be used to purchase property dedicated only to commercial fisheries or aquaculture use. Mixed-use properties must be clearly defined in support of a commercial fishing operation.
Applicants who are eligible for proposals include nonprofit land conservation organizations, private landowners, counties, cities, towns, and state agencies. Private businesses directly involved or other qualified organizations must provide permanent access for use by commercial fisheries. Potential applicants can contact Melissa Britsch, senior planner with the Maine Coastal Program, at 207-215-6171.
“For landowners who are willing to restrict future development of their property, the WWAPP could provide access to funds that can be used to build in a way that is resilient to the effects of a changing climate. This program will preserve and protect the valuable coastal facilities and infrastructure necessary to ensure a strong and durable coastal economy for Maine.” LMF board chair and DMR commissioner Patrick Keliher stated in a press release.
Gulf of Maine Research Institute initiative improves access to seafood for students
February 3, 2024 — About 45,000 New England students have been offered locally sourced seafood as part of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s initiative to serve more fish in school lunches.
Using money from federal and local grants, GMRI partnered with nine districts throughout the region, helping them introduce seafood to their students through fun recipes and education.
Their goal is to improve access to seafood and to see fish offered in schools more than just once a month.
Program leaders say 70% – 80% of the students surveyed after a taste test said they do like eating fish.
This initiative is intended to benefit the local economy as well.
MAINE: Changing the menu: Getting more seafood into Maine schools
February 1, 2024 — About 45,000 New England students have been offered locally sourced seafood as part of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s initiative to serve more fish in school lunches.
Using money from federal and local grants, GMRI partnered with nine districts throughout the region, helping them introduce seafood to their students through fun recipes and education. Their goal is to improve access to seafood and to see fish offered in schools more than just once a month.
“Whenever we talk to people about getting more fish in front of kids, the initial reaction is ‘Oh, kids don’t like seafood. They’re not going to eat it,’” said Sophie Scott, the Sustainable Seafood Program Manager for GMRI. She explains, though, that is not what they have observed in the 4-years this initiative has been underway.
MAINE: January storms nearly wiped out Maine’s lobster industry. Now comes the hard part.
January 30, 2024 — When back-to-back storms hit in mid-January, almost nothing in this picture postcard of a New England harbor was spared. In the heart of the state’s iconic lobster industry, the docks and leggy piers that lent Stonington harbor its scenic charm were destroyed, and the infrastructure that supports a vital industry took a massive hit.
The devastation felt by Maine’s lobster industry was an alarming warning that climate change is happening so fast, and with such seemingly cruel precision, that the scale of recovery may need to be greater than anyone had realized.
“It just came up shockingly high,” said Allison Melvin, of Greenhead Lobster, who watched as the ocean surged several feet in what seemed like a matter of seconds, buckling a conveyer belt that normally extends from its wharf down to the dock below, inundating forklifts, and lifting a tractor trailer truck used for refrigeration.
MAINE: Lobstermen (and Women) Pounded by Winter Storms, Closing Docks and Restaurants
January 30, 2024 — The January storms that rocked the coast of Maine may have taken aim at an unexpected victim – the lobster industry, The Boston Globe reported.
Beal’s Lobster Pier, a 92-year-old lobster joint, had to shutter its doors after the January 10 storm temporarily. The restaurant will be closed until the spring “to focus on repairs,” according to its website.
“The storm that started on Jan. 9 and led into Jan. 10 devastated Maine’s fishing community,” said Monique Coombs of the Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association told National Fisherman. “Wharves that have been in families for generations were picked up and unceremoniously carried away by massive waves and a very high tide.”
MAINE: Rebuilding in Maine
Januaery 30, 2024 — Two back-to-back storms devastated the coast of Maine from Jan. 10-13, flooding shoreside infrastructure and tearing away many of the docks that serve the state’s commercial fisheries. Photos of damage from Kittery to Canada filled pages on FaceBook and Instagram.
Now that the waves have diminished and the tides receded, many communities face the prospect of cleaning up and rebuilding.
Milbridge, Maine, lost two important wharfs, Chipman’s Wharf and Jordan Pier. While Jordan is a public pier, Chipman’s Wharf is a private company that buys lobsters, scallops, and other seafood from local boats, and runs a fish market and gift shop.
According to Amity Chipman, a co-owner of the wharf, they sustained considerable damage from the storms and are trying to figure out how to get operational before the 2024 lobster season begins. “We’re buying some scallops right now,” Chipman says. “Our area is closed so the boats are mostly fishing down toward Cutler and Lubec and driving them here. But we lost 110 feet of wharf and the building on the end. We need to get that rebuilt by April.”
MAINE: Maine aims to rebuild after devastating storms
January 26, 2024 — Mainers watched in disbelief as an extraordinary combination of high winds, heavy rain, and a never-before-seen high tide caused unprecedented damage and destruction along Maine’s long jagged coast in just a matter of hours. It’ll take years for things to be completely restored.
A record-high tide and powerful storm surge on Jan. 13 destroyed generations-old fishing wharves, damaged and flooded oceanside homes, swamped neighborhoods, demolished roadways, eroded beaches and swept old fishing shacks and other structures out to sea.
In Camp Ellis, a small seaside community in the southern Maine town of Saco, the ocean washed away roads, wiped out seawalls and crashed into beachfront homes. Waters destroyed a marina pier and flooded the town-owned Camp Ellis Pier in knee-high water, leaving behind a foot-and-a-half of sand when they receded.
“I think people are still in that anxiety mode to figure out what the next step is,” said Camp Ellis homeowner David Plavin as he walked over sand-covered streets pointing out the damage. “We’re getting there, but it’ll take time.”
Maine’s coast was first hit by a torrential storm on Jan. 10 with near-hurricane winds, rain and snow, and the third-highest tide ever recorded in Portland, the state’s largest city. Still reeling from that battering, an even more-intense storm lashed three days later with an even higher tide — the highest on record — along with 20-foot waves and wind gusts up to 60 mph that wreaked havoc along the state’s 3,500-mile coastline.
Maine’s coast is a tourist destination in the summer with its beaches and rocky coast, lobster shacks and temperate weather. But one of the most pressing concerns now is the impact to the state’s working waterfronts, which fishermen and other commercial interests rely on for their livelihoods. Maine has a diverse seafood industry, known not only for lobsters but also for clams, scallops, tuna, mussels and fish species such as haddock and cod.
An aerial survey by the Maine Department of Marine Resources and reports from property owners showed extensive damage from Kittery in the south to Eastport, the nation’s easternmost city, along the Canadian border. Maine’s 15 year-round island communities also bore the brunt.
MAINE: How the Maine coast will be reshaped by a rising Gulf of Maine
January 23, 2024 — Extreme weather made more frequent and ferocious by climate change has walloped Maine in the last year, and the coastal devastation wrought by recent storms is causing many Mainers to realize that climate change is happening right now.
From Kittery to Eastport, climate change came to life. Mainers could do little but watch as storms rushed in on seas elevated by climate change, buckling roads, scouring beaches and washing away our working waterfronts.
“People aren’t just waking up to climate change, but these storms have made theory into a pretty scary reality,” said Hannah Pingree, co-chair of the Maine Climate Council. “People thought we’d have more time to change, to prepare. This was our wake-up call. We’re running out of time.”
Between the two storms that hit the coast on Jan. 10 and 13, and the Dec. 18 storm that wreaked at least $20 million in damage to 10 Maine counties, there’s almost no way a Mainer could have missed the impact of this extreme weather, which can be traced back to climate change.
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