Saving Seafood

Maine Lobstermen’s Association seeks expedited federal appeal

October 12, 2022 — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said Tuesday it has hired former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement to bring the association’s appeal of the new National Marine Fisheries Service rules to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The association is challenging what it calls the “scientifically-flawed federal whale plan that will cripple Maine’s lobster industry.” Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general during the President George W. Bush administration from 2004-2008, “is widely recognized as a leading Supreme Court advocate, focusing on appellate matters, constitutional litigation, and strategic counseling,” the MLA said in a prepared statement

“When we said we refuse to let a single judge’s decision be the last word and that MLA is preparing to go all the way to the Supreme Court, we weren’t kidding,” said MLA president Kristan Porter, a commercial fisherman from Cutler, Maine. “We are incredibly grateful that Paul Clement, arguably the most qualified attorney in the nation on these matters, has chosen to stand with us.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MAINE: Janet Mills provides $100,000 to fight federal ruling on lobster restrictions

October 12, 2022 — Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday directed $100,000 in state money toward the appeal of a federal ruling that upheld new fishing requirements designed to protect right whales.

The decision, handed down in early September, went against the Maine Lobstermen’s Association in its bid to roll back the new fishing requirements. The association and state filed an appeal saying that the ruling was based on flawed data, and the regulations are too punitive to the lobster industry.

In a statement, the Democratic governor said federal regulators are moving “heedlessly ahead to implement new rules that would devastate Maine lobstermen,” so the appeals court must quickly move to “prevent further damage” to the iconic industry.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

Fishermen hire Bush-era official in challenge to whale laws

October 12, 2022 — Maine lobster fishermen have hired a former high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice official to represent them in their case against new laws intended to protect whales.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is appealing its case against the new rules to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The group said Tuesday it has hired Paul Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general from 2004 to 2008, to represent it in the case.

The solicitor general supervises all Supreme Court litigation for the U.S., and Clement has argued dozens of cases in front of the high court. That’s where the lobstermen’s case could ultimately be headed, he said Tuesday.

Read the full article at the Washington Post

Whales are dying. Ropes from lobster traps are partly to blame. That’s put lobsters — and the people who catch them — in the crosshairs of conservation groups.

October 12, 2022 — On a Wednesday afternoon last month, Sam Sewall snagged a lobster from a trap in York Harbor in Maine, and measured its carapace like a shoe salesman sizing a squirmy toddler’s foot. About 100 miles to the south, New England Aquarium marine scientist Sharon Hsu peered through the bubble windows of a small plane flying off Cape Cod, searching for whales. And in an alley behind Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay, chef Michael Serpa received a delivery of 20 pounds of fresh lobster tail, knuckle, and claw meat.

Out on the water, Sewall and his father, Mark, pulled up six traps in 90 minutes. After sizing and surveying each lobster, they tossed most back — they were too small, or breeders — and returned to dock with just a dozen lobsters. Sewall grimaced. New federal regulations on lobster fishing were likely coming, Sewall knew, and he worried about what they would mean for his livelihood.

Up in the air 15 miles off Nantucket, Hsu spotted the telltale heart-shaped blow of an endangered North Atlantic right whale. It swam slowly, with several rope lines trailing behind it.

Hsu had seen this whale before, similarly entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It was Snow Cone, and this was her fifth entanglement. Hsu knew Snow Cone would not likely survive.

“It was like a punch in the gut,” Hsu said, echoing a lobsterman she’s never met.

Meanwhile, Serpa took the lobster meat and began cleaning, chopping, and prepping it for that night’s dinner. There were lobster rolls and lobster spaghetti to prepare to fill the eager bellies of his guests. Demand has been so strong lately, he can practically name his price.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe

MAINE: Maine lawmakers call for more hearings on whale rules

October 11, 2022 — Members of Maine’s congressional delegation are asking the federal government to hold more hearings on whale protection rules to gauge the impact on the state’s commercial fishing industry.

In a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Angus King, I-Maine, said the federal agency’s decision to hold only one public hearing last week on the new regulations “unacceptable” and called for more engagement with the lobster industry.

The lawmakers wrote that the 90% risk reduction target fisheries regulators are pursuing over the next two years to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales would be a “death knell” for lobstermen.

Read the full article at Center Square

Right rules should be based on science to protect whales and lobstermen

October 10, 2022 — In recent weeks, Maine’s lobster industry has faced a series of unexpected challenges. Lobstermen, along with Gov. Janet Mills and the state’s congressional delegation, were outraged about a warning from an environmental group that urged consumers not to buy lobsters from Maine because of the risk the fishery poses to endangered North Atlantic right whales.

This red-listing was followed by news from federal regulators that they planned to place further restrictions on lobster harvesting much sooner than expected. They planned to do so with no meetings in Maine, which is home to the vast majority of the nation’s lobster fishermen. Mills and the state’s congressional delegation successfully lobbied for a meeting here, which was held Wednesday night in Portland. They are now asking for another meeting in Downeast Maine.

That anger was apparent at the session held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

NOAA Sea Grant announces $2.1M to support aquaculture research and extension in Maine

October 10, 2022 — NOAA Sea Grant has announced $2.1 million to fund four projects that advance aquaculture research and extension to support sustainable aquaculture in Maine. The projects are part of a larger $14 million NOAA Sea Grant investment to strengthen aquaculture across the United States.

Investigators from the University of Maine Aquaculture Research Institute, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research, and Maine Sea Grant will lead projects to develop feed for finfish, improve Atlantic sea scallop hatchery techniques, diversify lumpfish broodstock, and advance the work of the Maine Aquaculture Hub, respectively.

“Innovation and diversification in Maine’s aquaculture industry have created new jobs and economic opportunities in our state. We welcome this investment from NOAA, which will support the ongoing, cutting-edge research by UMaine scientists and students. These projects will help to increase the sustainability and economic viability of aquaculture in coastal communities here in Maine and across the country,” said U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King in a joint statement.

“Year after year, the Sea Grant program protects thousands of acres of coastal ecosystems, generates hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development, and creates thousands of jobs across the country,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree in a press release. “As a longtime supporter of the Sea Grant program and an advocate for it through my role on the House Appropriations Committee, I’m thrilled aquaculture projects in Maine are being invested in. This funding is yet another example of how Sea Grant is fostering innovation and entrepreneurship to support Maine’s working waterfront and coastal communities.”

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

MAINE: Local fishermen voice frustration in public meeting with NOAA

October 7, 2022 — Mainers had a chance to voice their opinion on how the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) should modify its plan to protect whales. Many from the coastal and fishing community traveled for this meeting.

Gov. Janet Mills, Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Angus King, Rep. Jared Golden, Rep. Chellie Pingree, and former Gov. Paul LePage spoke or had someone speak on their behalf.

Read the full article at WMTW

Federal officials confronted by Maine lobstermen, leaders over rules to protect whales

October 7, 2022 — Frustration and anger from Maine lobstermen and elected leaders is being directed at federal regulators.

It happened at the only in-person meeting with federal officials about proposed rules to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

More than 500 people packed into a USM auditorium as they hoped to tell NOAA exactly how they feel about these rules.

“This is about wiping us off the map,” said one person early into the public comment section of the meeting.

Read the full article at Fox 23