Saving Seafood

MAINE: Winds of Change, Pt. 2: Maine fishermen share concerns with proposed offshore wind farms

March 26, 2023 — Earlier this week, we looked into incoming offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine from the economic and energy perspective.

But the Gulf is also a workplace for thousands of Maine fishermen whose business might be impacted by these floating turbines.

They share their biggest concerns with the “Winds of Change” in part two of this special report.

“I don’t think we own the Gulf of Maine,” lobsterman Stephen Train said. “But, we’ve been using it for so long, we have trouble with the concept of displacement, and it’s justified. We’ve been the caretakers. We’ve been harvesting a very successful resource, or multiple resources, out of this gulf managed very well for a long time.”

Thousands of lobstermen generations deep have used the fertile waters of the Gulf of Maine to make their living. But many today fear that offshore wind may just blow them out of the water.

Read the full article at WABI

MAINE: Maine lawmakers consider bill to keep funding lobster legal defense

March 26, 2023 — Maine’s lobster industry is asking the state to continue bankrolling its legal defense fund by diverting a cut of its licensing fees intended to market the state’s signature crustacean into its court battles to fight federal whale protections that threaten the fishery’s future.

“We’re in the fight of our lives here,” House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham said. “Without the fishermen, there is no lobster to market. If we don’t win our lawsuits, there won’t be any fishermen left. That hurts all of Maine. It’s really that simple.”

The Winter Harbor Republican and lobsterman made his pitch for funding Thursday to the Marine Resources Committee at a public hearing on his bill, L.D. 710. It would give 20% of the industry’s license surcharges — about $380,000 a year — to the legal defense fund through 2030.

The fund was created to cover legal fees incurred by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the Maine Lobstering Union in the fight to overturn the National Marine Fisheries Service’s new whale protections and defend against environmental groups that want even tougher protections in place.

Originally, Faulkingham had sought a $1 million contribution over two years from the general fund, but after discussions with state officials, he changed it to a 20% cut of a marketing surcharge paid out of Maine lobster licenses, for a total of $2.3 million.

Read the full article at Yahoo Life

MAINE: Maine legislative panel votes down aquaculture regulation bill

March 26, 2023 — A legislative committee voted Thursday to kill a bill that sought to establish additional regulations on Maine’s industrial aquaculture sector.

The Sierra Club-backed measure sought to require the Department of Marine Resources to ensure that new land-based aquaculture facilities would not degrade water or air quality or increase carbon emissions.

It also would have put in place strict new standards for feed sources.

Read the full article at Spectrum News

MAINE: Winds of Change, Pt. 1: How offshore wind will impact Maine’s economy, energy

March 22, 2023 — Offshore wind is coming to the Gulf of Maine.

It’s part of a push from state and federal government to develop renewable energy.

But how soon will the wind hit the water – and how will it benefit Mainers?

Details on the state’s vision in part one of a special report: “Winds of Change.”

The winds blowing off the Gulf of Maine are strong, and consistent. It’s gotten some thinking – what if there was a way to use this resource to benefit the whole state?

That’s only part of the premise outlined in Gov. Janet Mills’ Offshore Wind Roadmap – a document that spells plans for hundreds of wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine.

“We are striving for a balance that includes moving away from fossil fuels, continuing to support existing ocean industries and also providing additional economic opportunities throughout the state,” Stephanie Watson, the offshore wind program manager at the Governor’s Energy Office, said.

Offshore wind is just one way Maine is striving to meet its goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2050 – along with solar, onshore wind and storage.

Read the full article at WABI

MAINE: Maine lobstermen brought in less money than year before

March 30, 2023 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources released new lobster industry statistics.

After a year of historically high sales in 2021, last year’s numbers dropped.

In 2021, the average price per pound of lobster was $6.71. That fell to $3.97 in 2022.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources said lobstermen brought in just under 98 million pounds in 2022. That was much lower than the year before due to a few different economic reasons.

Read the full article at CBS 4 News

Crustacean defamation? Maine lobstermen sue aquarium over do-not-eat list.

March 19, 2023 — A group of lobstermen is heading to court in the hope of resolving an issue that they claim has endangered their American market: lobster defamation.

Months after a California aquarium and conservation group recommended that seafood consumers avoid buying and eating American lobster, Maine industry groups are arguing that lobster, which is mostly harvested in that state, should not have been boycotted.

A coalition of organizations, including the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, filed the defamation suit Monday against the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation after it placed the American lobster, a species found on the Atlantic coast that makes up most of the U.S. market, on its “red list” of seafood for consumers to avoid in September.

Seafood Watch, the conservation group operated by the aquarium, made the move because of the threat posed to right whales by fishing gear entanglement used to harvest lobster. Only an estimated 340 right whales are left in the North Atlantic.

Read the full article at the Washington Post

Lobster Fisherman File Defamation Suit Against Environmentalists for Lying About Fishing Practices

March 16, 2023 — A powerful environmentalist group in California is being sued by Maine lobstermen and industry groups for lying about the impact that lobstermen have on right whale populations offshore.

The California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation makes recommendations for seafood buyers and restaurant chains on where to purchase products. Last year, the foundation downgraded Maine lobster from “good alternative” to “avoid” because of the impact Maine lobster fisherman have on right whale populations.

“They conducted this inquiry, this analysis, based on what they characterized as all scientific data and a rigorous and transparent science-based process. But the facts are just the opposite,” Kevin Lipson, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “The facts are that Maine lobster fishing practices have actually contributed to the sustainability not only of the lobster fishery, but of North Atlantic right whales.”

Right whales are menaced with extinction by far bigger threats than a few hundred lobster fishermen. Nevertheless, the Maine lobstermen have taken pains to be responsible stewards of the sea.

Read the full article at PJ Media

Maine lobstermen sue California-based aquarium for recent ‘red listing’

March 14, 2023 — Maine lobstermen are suing the California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium over its decision to strip U-S lobster fisheries of their sustainability certification.

The aquarium’s Seafood Watch program “red-listed” lobster last fall, arguing that the fisheries pose a threat to the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The new rating means that the aquarium is urging businesses and consumers to avoid buying lobster.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in federal district court, Maine lobstermen argue that the aquarium has ignored the scientific data on right whale entanglements and that it made defamatory statements causing them economic harm.

“The aquarium leveraged its significant influence over public opinion and the commercial decisions of major lobster purchasers, using its public platform to pressure those parties into cutting off business with plaintiffs,” the complaint reads.

The plaintiffs include the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and three lobster producers and sellers. All say they’ve suffered monetary damages worth at least $75,000 each because of the aquarium’s new rating.

Read the full article at Maine Public

Officials consider new lobster size limits in Maine to protect young population

March 9, 2023 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering tighter rules on the minimum and maximum sizes of lobster that fishermen in Maine are allowed to catch.

Recent assessments show a troubling decline in young lobsters, commission and Maine Department of Marine Resources officials say, and because the state’s lobster catch is by far the largest and most valuable of any New England fishery, proactive measures might be necessary to protect the spawning stock.

Read the full article at CAI

MAINE: Environmentalists: Maine dam operator not protecting salmon

March 8, 2023 — Environmental groups and a Native American tribe accused the operator of a Maine dam on Monday of not fulfilling its obligation to protect the country’s last remaining Atlantic salmon river run.

The last wild Atlantic salmon live in a group of rivers in Maine and have been listed under the Endangered Species Act since 2000. The Penobscot River, a 109-mile (175-kilometer) river in the eastern part of the state is one of the most important habitats for the fish.

The Penobscot is also the site of the Milford Dam, which is owned by renewable energy giant Brookfield Renewable. The company is required under the Endangered Species Act to maintain fish passages that allow 95% of adult salmon to pass the dam within 48 hours.

According to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, Atlantic Salmon Federation and Penobscot Indian Nation, documents obtained using the Maine Freedom of Access Act show that Brookfield isn’t living up to that obligation and that data compiled by the Maine Department of Marine Resources last fall show that only about 21% of salmon pass the dam in the required timeframe.

Read the full article at the Associated Press