Saving Seafood

MAINE: Don’t make this mistake about Maine women who catch lobster

May 30, 2023 — When Ali Farrell was doing press for her book, “Pretty Rugged: True Stories From Women of the Sea,” reporters would often ask her why she used the “wrong” word when referring to women in the lobster industry.

“One hundred percent of the women I talked to called themselves lobstermen, and some people asked me why I used what they said was an inappropriate word,” Farrell said. “I had to explain to them that female lobstermen aren’t lobsterwomen, or lobster fishers. They are lobstermen.”

Across the board, lobstermen is the preferred term for anyone who works on a lobster boat in Maine. It doesn’t matter what age, background, sexual orientation or gender you are: If you’re working on a boat, you’re a lobsterman. Same goes for sternman, if you’re prepping bait and sorting through the day’s catch.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Troubled American Aquafarms project spawns bill limiting aquaculture in Maine

May 30, 2023 — Legislators in the U.S. state of Maine have proposed a new bill that would put density limits on salmon farms in state waters, a move made in response to the troubled American Aquafarms project.

The new bill, LD 1951, “An Act Regarding Marine Finfish Aquaculture,” would amend state law to add maximum stocking densities for salmon net pens located in state waters. The state’s Committee on Marine Resources unanimously voted ought-to-pass on 25 May on an amended version of the bill requiring salmonid net pens to remain under a density of 30 kilograms per cubic meter.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: New bill proposes limits on certain large-scale aquaculture farms

May 26, 2023 — A legislative committee approved a proposal Thursday aimed at preventing certain oversized aquaculture projects from ever receiving consideration from state regulators.

The bill, first introduced by state Sen. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, and later amended by the marine resources committee, would prohibit the state from issuing leases for finfish aquaculture farms if the proposed stocking density exceeds 30 kilograms per cubic meter.

Grohoski said the bill is motivated by the proposal from American Aquafarms, which wanted to build a massive salmon farm in Frenchman Bay. The proposal sparked deep opposition from lobstermen, Acadia National Park and conservationists.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources rejected the American Aquafarms application for lack of completeness last year, and the processing facility purchased by the company was recently put up for auction.

Read the full article at Maine Public

Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association testimony from recent BOEM task force meeting

May 26, 2023 — Testimony from MCFA’s Emily Coffin, Seafood and Fisheries Policy Coordinator, at BOEM’s Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting in Augusta on May 10-11.

My name is Emily Coffin, I’m a 5th generation fisherman out of Brunswick and work for the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. We are an industry-founded organization that advocates for fishing communities and we believe in stewarding our marine resources for a sustainable and vibrant fishing future.

I’m here today to express my concern over the data collection approach with respect to the National Centers for Coastal Oceans Science (NCCOS) spatial modeling as well as the equity issues within the greater process of offshore wind development.

BOEM has asked fishermen for their fishing data, which is of high value, but the NCCOS model has not yet provided transparency about how exactly that data will be used. 

If BOEM values community engagement, support from the industry sector, and stakeholder participation, they will make a more significant effort not only to include and invite but seek out fishermen who share their data and answer that effort by returning information on where that data goes and how much it matters.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New England Fishery Management Council asks NOAA to raise haddock limit for upcoming season

May 24, 2023 — The Gulf of Maine is now on a federal overfishing watchlist after a group of scientists found the haddock population is on the decline.

As a result of the population decline showed in the survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has limited the amount of haddock New England fishermen can catch this season.

Now, the New England Fishery Management Council estimating fishing season will close as early as August.

But fishermen said they are seeing an increase in the highly demanded fish this season, not a decrease, and they are questioning the science behind the survey.

In an effort to protect the fish and the fishermen, the New England Fishery Management Council has asked NOAA to increase the limit.

Read the full article at WMUR

MAINE: Historic alewife runs in Maine continue to rebound

May 24, 2023 — Fishermen and regulators call the return of alewife runs in Maine a success story.

In the ’80s, the fishery was all but gone. Dams and overfishing drove the migratory fish, that lives in the ocean and returns to ponds to spawn, out of the playbook for lobstermen bait.

But now with regulations by the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the removal of dams throughout Maine streams, the alewife is now running better than the last few decades.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

MAINE: Role of Unionized Firms at Center of Maine’s Offshore Wind Debate

May 22, 2023 — On Thursday the Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee held a public hearing on a proposal to pave the way for the development of offshore wind infrastructure in the Gulf of Maine, including the construction of a coastal manufacturing facility that would build the offshore floating wind turbines

Lawmakers also considered Thursday Rep. Tiffany Strout’s (R-Harrington) LD 1884, a bill that would block offshore wind developments.

In recent years, the prospect of filling the Gulf of Maine with hundreds of wind turbines has taken on an air of inevitability, with environmental groups, industry groups, and well-paid lobbyists pouring millions of dollars into political pressure campaigns and ad campaigns designed to build support for the project.

Unions, construction companies, investment companies, and lobbyists are all lining up to secure their share of what could be one of the largest taxpayer-funded projects in the history of the state.

Most of the activity during Thursday afternoon’s public hearing centered around LD 1895, a bill proposed by Sen. Mark Lawrence (D-York) that would expand offshore wind power in the Gulf of Maine.

The bill is cosponsored by nine Democratic State Senators and Representatives.

Sen. Lawrence’s bill would direct the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) to encourage the development of extraterritorial wind power projects in the Gulf of Maine, mandate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles for an offshore wind power port project, create environmental monitoring standards, and ensure that any port project use agreements favorable to labor unions.

LD 1895 also directs the MPUC to solicit contracts for wind power projects, with the first solicitation to happen no later than June 1, 2025, and each subsequent solicitation required to be within two years of the previous one.

Read the full article at the Maine Wire

MAINE: Maine committee holds hearing on competing offshore wind bills

May 22, 2023 — Two competing bills – one accelerating offshore wind technology, the other hitting the brakes on it – were taken up by a Maine legislative panel Thursday during a lengthy, hours-long public hearing that stretched late into the evening.

The Maine Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Technology heard from dozens of environmental advocates, fishermen, and residents on Legislative Document 1884, an act to prohibit offshore wind energy development, and Legislative Document 1895, an action regarding the procurement of energy from offshore wind resources.

If enacted, LD1884 would change the course of ramping up offshore wind as a renewable energy source – not just within Maine but across New England and north of the international border.

Read the full article at The Center Square

Gulf of Maine offshore wind developers open for public comment

May 22, 2023 — As offshore wind developers inch closer to the horizon, fishermen on the East Coast are eagerly searching for answers.

On May 10-11, the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) hosted the Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force Meeting at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine.

The purpose of the two-day meetings was to update task force members and the public on BOEM’s commercial and research offshore wind energy planning activities and discuss the next steps for the Gulf of Maine, including a Call for Information and Nominations.

More information from BOEM can be found here.

On May 3, 2023, BOEM announced the publication of the Gulf of Maine’s Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment for a wind energy research lease on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf offshore Maine in the Federal Register on May 4, 2023.

This meeting gave the greater public and fishermen the ability to ask questions in person to BOEM members, as well as an open 30-day public comment period that will end June 5 at 11:59 p.m.

Read the full article at National Fisherman