Saving Seafood

MAINE: Maine legislature passes bill to develop offshore wind energy industry in the Gulf of Maine

July 30, 2023 — On July 26, 2023, the Maine Legislature passed amended bill “An Act Regarding the Procurement of Energy from Offshore Wind Resources” (LD 1895), which aims to develop offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine while maintaining good-paying jobs for Maine workers. The bill has been sent to Governor Janet Mills.

LD 1895 is sponsored by Senator Mark Lawrence, who stated, “Record-setting temperatures, dangerous and unpredictable storms and rising ocean levels and temperatures demonstrate the urgency of developing offshore wind and meeting our state’s goals for renewable energy. I’m grateful to my fellow legislators for supporting this bill. LD  1895 represents a detailed path to smart offshore wind development that will benefit our environment, Maine workers and coastal communities.”

Read the full article at WAGM

MAINE: Maine lawmakers endorse proposal that would jumpstart offshore wind projects

July 25, 2023 — Maine is poised to launch an offshore wind program that would meet clean energy goals and produce enough power for about 900,000 homes from floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine.

The legislation, which was endorsed by lawmakers Tuesday, calls for requests for proposals to be issued for 3,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040. That’s enough electricity to power about half of Maine’s electricity load.

“This bill means jobs. It means lower, more stable energy prices, while at the same time addressing climate change. We need to pass this bill now,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Lawrence, the bill’s sponsor.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

MAINE: Family and friends recall missing Down East lobsterman’s love of fishing

July 24, 2023 — Three days after he was reported missing and his empty boat was found with the motor still running, family and friends of a Steuben lobsterman are losing hope of seeing the young man safely brought back to shore.

Tylar Michaud, 18, was last seen Friday morning heading out for the day to haul and set traps near Petit Manan Point, according to the Maine Marine Patrol. He was reported missing about 5 p.m. Friday when he failed to return. On Sunday the U.S. Coast Guard ended its participation in the search.

Calls to the U.S. Coast Guard Northern New England Sector were not immediately returned on Sunday.

MAINE: Multi-million dollar bill to support lobster industry advances

July 17, 2023 — Senator Susan Collins has announced she has advanced more than $35 million in an appropriations bill for the next fiscal year to support Maine’s lobster industry.

The bill was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and still needs the approval of Congress.

$30 million would go to the Atlantic Marine States Fisheries Commission for Right Whale related research and monitoring.

Read the full article at WABI

MAINE: Haddock quotas for fishermen have been drastically cut. What does that mean for haddock eaters?

July 10, 2023 — There is a haddock problem swimming around Gulf of Maine waters.

But don’t blame the problem on fishermen catching too many haddock, say Maine commercial fishing advocates like Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. In fact, they have been fishing in accordance with mandated quotas for decades, he said, regulatory measures that have returned the haddock stocks in the Gulf of Maine to sustainable levels.

The problem, rather, is grounded in inaccurate accounting of the boom-and-bust cycles of haddock biomass, that is, how many fish are swimming in the Gulf of Maine at any given time. In April, the New England Fishery Management Council, a regional body that uses industry and scientific data to recommend quotas that restrict how many metric tons of regulated species Maine fishermen can haul in each year, announced a cut in haddock quotas. It represents an 80-plus percent reduction in allowable catch; the new season began on May 1.

To understand this year’s drastic cut, you need to go back several years: The 2022 catch limits were based on a 2019 stock assessment, according to New England Fishery Management Council member Dr. Jamie Cournane speaking in a podcast hosted by Martens. In hindsight, the 2019 assessment was found to be bloated because, among several factors, the “recruits” (the juvenile fish swimming with the 2019 cohort) matured to be smaller than anticipated. Thus the 2023 limits, ultimately calculated in pounds, were set on an assessment conducted in 2021 that reflects the skinnier fish.

Fishermen have formally questioned the 2021 assessment because they say they are seeing many haddock in the Gulf of Maine. Not only is haddock a significant revenue source for them, but the fishermen fear that they’ll be restricted from catching other groundfish – particularly American plaice and grey sole – that also swim near the bottom of the sea. Say, for example, that fishermen fill their quota for haddock by August. They’d then have a hard time taking a trip to catch plaice or grey sole because haddock bycatch, likely, would also be in the nets.

Cournane and her colleagues have recommended an emergency increase in haddock catches for Maine fishermen to allow them to keep fishing for other groundfish species; the emergency increase would allow for wiggle room in the net for a few haddock as bycatch. The increase is small and on par with conservation efforts mandated by federal law, she said. According to Janice M. Plante, Council spokesperson, no conservation groups spoke out against the emergency measure in April.

Read the full article at The Press Herald

Maine lobstermen see their plight reflected in Alaska salmon trollers’ saga

July 5, 2023 — Fresh off legal victories, lobstermen in the U.S. state of Maine and salmon trollers across the country in Alaska are finding kinship in a shared narrative.

In a letter sent to the Alaska Trollers Association, Maine Lobstermen’s Association President Kristan Porter said both organizations had fought similar battles against environmentalists who want to end commercial fishing over concern about the threat it poses to whales.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Maine Governor Janet Mills signs bill placing limits on salmonid aquaculture

June 27, 2023 — Janet Mills, the governor of the U.S. state of Maine, has signed a bill limiting salmonid aquaculture introduced in the wake of American Aquafarms’ failed bid to establish a facility in Gouldsboro, Maine.

The bill, L.D. 1951, An Act Regarding Marine Finfish Aquaculture, places limits on the stocking density of salmonid aquaculture operations. The bill was sponsored by Maine Senator Nicole Grohoski and co-sponsored by Maine House Minority Leader Representative Billy Bob Faulkingham, and passed through committee in late May before quickly passing both the House and Senate before being signed into law by Mills.

Cooke Aquaculture Vice President of Public Relations told SeafoodSource that the shift made all the difference.

“We appreciate that Maine legislators and the governor took a consultative and science-based approach to finalize the bill at a stocking density in the lease area of up to 30 kilograms per cubic meter,” Richardson said. “Previous bills (up to 22 kilograms per cubic meter) presented to the Maine Marine Resources Committee would have negatively impacted rural coastal jobs and restricted a producer’s ability to introduce new technologies and innovative equipment which otherwise enables aquaculture farms to operate even more sustainably.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

A federal bill would ban wind power development in key fishing area off Maine coast

June 26, 2023 — U.S. Rep. Jared Golden has introduced a bill that would bar commercial offshore wind energy development in a key fishing area along the coast of Maine.

The bill would prevent the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from potentially hurting the fishing and lobstering industries in Maine, said Golden, D-2nd District. The legislation would ban wind energy development in Lobster Management Area 1, which is the zone closest to shore and stretches along the entire coast of Maine. The bill also would launch an assessment of how federal agencies like the BOEM and the National Marine Fisheries Service study the effects of offshore wind development and engage with industry groups.

Maine has a long, complex relationship with such attempts to harness the power of distant sea breezes to generate electricity.

There are currently a variety of plans across the state to create both public and private offshore wind farms. The Governor’s Energy Office wants to lease a site 45 miles from Portland in the Gulf of Maine to create the nation’s first floating offshore wind research site.

A developer also is working with University of Maine researchers to build a commercial-size floating wind turbine off the coast of Maine. And the Governor’s Energy Office is thinking about turning a portion of Sears Island, off Searsport, into a center for assembling and servicing wind turbines.

However, the attempts all require a massive build-out of the state’s infrastructure. Wind turbines would have to float in the Gulf of Maine because the waters are too deep to allow the structures to be anchored to the seabed. And an attempt to build a commercial-size floating wind turbine project might be scrapped because it’s too large, complicated and expensive.

Read the full article at the Press Herald

Court hands lobstermen a win

June 27, 2023 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling on June 16 overturning a lower court’s ruling that would have required the lobster fishery to eliminate virtually any risk—no matter how minute—that North Atlantic right whales could become entangled in lobstering gear.

“Maine’s lobstermen and women have long demonstrated their commitment to maintaining and protecting a sustainable fishery in the Gulf of Maine,” said Gov. Janet Mills in a joint statement with the state’s federal delegation. “Today’s decision vindicates what the Maine lobster fishery, and the countless communities that rely on it, knew all along—that their practices support the conservation of the gulf ecosystem for generations to come.”

Read the full article at Penobscot Bay Press

MAINE: Maine Governor Janet Mills signs bill placing limits on salmonid aquaculture

June 26, 2023 — Janet Mills, the governor of the U.S. state of Maine, has signed a bill limiting salmonid aquaculture introduced in the wake of American Aquafarms’ failed bid to establish a facility in Gouldsboro, Maine.

The bill, L.D. 1951, An Act Regarding Marine Finfish Aquaculture, places limits on the stocking density of salmonid aquaculture operations. The bill was sponsored by Maine Senator Nicole Grohoski and co-sponsored by Maine House Minority Leader Representative Billy Bob Faulkingham, and passed through committee in late May before quickly passing both the House and Senate before being signed into law by Mills.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource