Saving Seafood

Maine and NH lobstermen celebrate reversal of lobster catch size limits

February 4, 2025 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have walked back new regulations that New Hampshire and Maine lobstermen said would have dire economic consequences to their industry.

The commission voted Tuesday to repeal key elements of a proposed increase to minimum allowable catch sizes for Gulf of Maine lobster. The announcement comes after officials in Maine and New Hampshire, which together account for most of U.S. lobster landings, announced they would not cooperate with the proposal.

“New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) thanks the commission for heeding the voice of lobstermen,” said NEFSA COO and fourth-generation lobsterman Dustin Delano. “Raising catch sizes at this time would bankrupt many lobstermen and surrender the U.S. market to foreign competitors. NEFSA is grateful that the commission has chosen to support our historic trade, which contributes billions to New England’s economy and shapes the character of the region.”

Read the full article at Fosters Daily Democrat

Plankton decline poses threat to marine ecosystems

January 30, 2025 — For decades, researchers around the world have been observing negative trends in plankton population dynamics.

Jerry Leeman, executive director of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), has become a prominent voice for New England fishermen. His passion for defending a way of life comes from having lived it. He knows his fish, but lately, he has focused on an invisible but essential component of the commercial fishing industry: plankton. Like many fishermen, Leeman opposes offshore wind farms, not only because of the space they take up and the dangers they create but because they kill plankton, the foundation of the marine food chain.

“The cooling systems for these windmills pump 8.1 million gallons of seawater through every day, heating it to 86 to 90 degrees and killing 100 percent of the plankton,” says Leeman, citing projections for Ørsted’s 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind project off New York. “We’re seeing a 65 percent decline in the phytoplankton population in the Gulf of Maine over the last two decades, and we’re talking about putting wind farms that kill plankton in areas where we have no baseline for primary production.”

As Leeman notes, phytoplankton is the foundation of the marine food chain. It also provides upwards of 50 percent of the earth’s oxygen. Climate change, wind farms, agricultural run-off, microplastic, and a host of other threats are affecting plankton and it’s surprising that the decline of this vital component of the earth’s ecosystems is not front-page news.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New England fishers protest proposed changes to region’s cod management plan

December 4, 2024 — Commercial fishers in the U.S. region of New England are protesting a new cod management plan under consideration by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), claiming the changes will destroy the region’s historic cod fishery.

“These restrictions are going to be the end of the trawlers and anyone else buying fish,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) CEO Jerry Leeman said in a statement. “Everyone in the fisheries expects Addendum 25 to torpedo their businesses.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Trump reversal looms for offshore wind

November 6, 2024 — Former President Donald Trump’s impending 2025 return to the White House sent shock waves through the U.S. offshore wind industry and was hailed by its foes, who look forward to Trump’s campaign promise to shut down projects “on day one.”

“The incoming administration has a historic opportunity to save American workers from foreign developers, reinvigorate iconic coastal towns, and improve America’s food security,” said Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, on Wednesday morning.

 Trump’s victory could bring a sharp reversal of the wind industry’s fortunes, as happened immediately after President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.

“They destroy everything, they’re horrible, the most expensive energy there is,” Trump said at a May 11 rally in Wildwood, N.J., where he pledged to halt turbine projects. “They ruin the environment, they kill the birds, they kill the whales.”

Despite Trump’s campaign rhetoric against them, wind power advocates tried to make a case for continuation.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

MAINE: Maine fishermen rally at ‘Save Our Fisheries Summer Bash’ for legal fund

August 19, 2024 — About one hundred people gathered on Maine’s midcoast this Saturday for the second annual “Save Our Fisheries Summer Bash.”

The fundraiser featured a parade, live music, a silent auction, food and drink.

The event from the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association raises money for their legal battle with the federal government overfishing regulations that fishermen in Maine argue is harming the industry.

Read the full article at WGME

Frustrated Fishermen Demand Answers, Transparency After Vineyard Wind Failure

August 2, 2024 — Members of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) are demanding a thorough investigation into the recent incident involving a detached blade from a Vineyard Wind turbine.

The mishap, which occurred on July 13, resulted in widespread debris across significant fishing areas from Nantucket to Cape Cod, causing concern among local fishermen.

Jerry Leeman, CEO of NEFSA, expressed the community’s frustration, stating, “Trust between fishermen and offshore wind developers is at an absolute nadir.”

Read the full story at Shore News Network

Fishermen Join Lawsuit Against Vineyard Wind After Blade Failure

July 25, 2024 — The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has called for the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior regarding the safety of Vineyard Wind’s turbines. The case, RODA v. Department of the Interior, is scheduled for oral arguments on Thursday.

Jerry Leeman, CEO of NEFSA, highlighted recent issues related to the Vineyard Wind project, particularly a blade malfunction that resulted in debris being scattered across important fishing areas. “The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) put the government on notice over two years ago that Vineyard Wind’s turbines aren’t safe. The recent blade disaster has scattered debris over a huge swath of historic fishing grounds, creating serious hazards for mariners and marine life,” Leeman stated.

Leeman raised concerns over the safety testing of the Haliade-X turbines used in the project. “As RODA’s lawsuit explains, there is no evidence Vineyard Wind’s Haliade-X turbines were ever safety tested. Fishermen are gravely concerned that they cannot withstand the volatile marine conditions of the north Atlantic. Now New England fishermen are paying a steep price for this criminal lack of oversight.”

Read the full article at Shore News Network

Fishing group asks court to find regulatory process unconstitutional

September 12, 2023 — A Maine fishing group is asking a federal court to find that the process used to regulate fisheries is unconstitutional because it places to much power in the hands of un-elected officials.

A lawyer for the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association and Harpswell fisherman Jerry Leeman filed the lawsuit Sept. 8 in the U.S. District Court in Portland.

The fishermen’s group describes itself as an “alliance of commercial fishermen dedicated to educating the public about seafood resource management and protecting the future of local commercial fishing in New England. It aims to promote regional economic strength, ecosystem sustainability and American food security.”

The plaintiffs went to court in response to a National Marine Fisheries Council policy known as Framework Adjustment 65, which, among other things, sets annual catch limits for several groundfish species, including haddock, cod, white hake and yellowtail flounder.

“Most notably, it slashes the overall commercial catch limit for haddock by about 80%. The Council also chose to cut the white hake commercial catch limit by around 13% and install a 10-year Gulf of Maine cod rebuilding plan that will further restrict access to the cod fishery,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit contends that when Congress approved the creation of the Fisheries Council, it immunized Council members from meaningful control by the President, his Commerce Secretary and through them the American people.

Read the full article at the Courier-Gazette