Saving Seafood

Directed Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery Closure Effective 6 PM, November 24, 2025

November 24, 2025 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

NOAA Fisheries and the states of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts project the Atlantic herring fishery will catch 92% of the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit by November 24, 2025. The Area 1A directed fishery will close effective 6:00 p.m. on November 24, 2025 and remain closed until further notice. Vessels that have entered port before 6:00 p.m. on November 24, 2025 may land and sell, from that trip, greater than 2,000 pounds of herring from Area 1A.

 
During a closure, vessels participating in other fisheries may retain and land an incidental catch of herring that does not exceed 2,000 pounds per trip or calendar day. In addition, directed herring vessels traveling through Area 1A must have all fishing gear stowed.
 
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0716 or efranke@asmfc.org.
 

A voice for New England’s working waterfronts: Dustin Delano

November 21, 2025 — For as long as he can remember, Dustin Delano’s life has been measured by the tides. He was just a small child when he first climbed aboard his father’s lobster boat on Maine’s Midcoast- a kid curled up on the fish tote full of rope while his dad hauled traps.

“He was a young, single father in his early twenties- working hard as a lobsterman while raising a son,” Delano recalled. “I’d help his sternum fill bait bags and band lobsters.”

That early introduction to the scent of salty air, a diesel hum, and determination set the course for Delano’s life. His father showed him what it meant to work for every dollar, and his mother’s foster father, Stephen Lash, taught him the importance of giving back. With their help, Delano pieced together his first set of traps- some used gear from his dad, and a few used traps fronted by Lash until he could afford to pay for them on his own. At just 11 years old, he was hauling by hand from a 17-foot wooden skiff powered by a 25-horse Yamaha.

“I wasn’t allowed to go out alone,” he remembered. “So, I’d wait for my father to get back from a long day of lobstering, and together we’d head back out to haul my traps in the afternoon. I can still hear him saying, ‘Hurry up and pull that trap up- I don’t want to be out here all night!’”

Those early days and long afternoons on the water, with laughter mixed with lessons, shaped Delano’s work ethic. He saved every cent he could and, with the help of family and friends, restored a 34-foot wooden lobster boat called Provider during his senior year of high school. “Every bit of my savings went into getting that boat ready,” he said. “It marked the beginning of my deep and lasting love for the lobster fishery.”

Rooted in the rhythm of Maine’s coast

Today, Delano speaks about the fishery with the same sense of purpose that has driven generations of Maine lobstermen. “The fishery isn’t just a job for me- It’s a foundation of who I am,” he said. “Every sunrise over the bay, every haul of the trap, every conversation at the wharf- it’s part of the rhythm of life that has shaped generations before me and continues to define who we are today.”

That deep sense of place — and of responsibility to it — has always guided Delano’s decisions. He’s quick to note that Maine’s fishing communities are built on more than boats and traps; they’re sustained by neighbors who lend a hand, families who mend gear together, and a shared commitment to stewardship. “Our fishery isn’t just about the catch. It’s about protecting a way of life that connects us to the ocean, to each other, and to something larger than ourselves,” he said. “Preserving it isn’t optional, it’s a responsibility.”

Read the full article at National Fisherman

In effort to expand American fish farming, New Hampshire marine biologist joins congressional push

September 3, 2025 — Mike Coogan has been doing aquaculture, or fish farming, formally for over a decade. Informally — through at-home hobby fish tanks and aquariums — he’s been doing it much longer.

Now, he’s joined a legislative effort to streamline the regulatory process for aquaculture to help create a U.S. industry.

Coogan is a researcher at the University of New Hampshire, where he works on the school’s AquaFort, a pilot project where researchers are growing steelhead trout in the mouth of the Piscataqua River near New Castle.

“We have a tiny, tiny coastline, just 18 miles,” he said of the Granite State. “But we do a lot of interesting work, and have been sort of leaders in offshore aquaculture or open ocean aquaculture for the last 25 and change years.”

The fish farm uses a method called multitrophic aquaculture, which means they grow different species together, in small 20-by-20-foot underwater cages with 15-foot nets, Coogan said. They line the perimeter of the farm with sugar kelp and blue mussels to create “a biological curtain” to absorb nutrients and prevent disease. UNH is the only university growing fish in the ocean, he said.

That fish farm and others like it are far from a large-scale industry though. Aquaculture produces only 7% of domestic seafood in the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Roughly 70% to 85% of seafood in the U.S. is imported, and it’s estimated half of that comes from aquaculture, per the NOAA. Aquaculture in the U.S. largely consists of catfish farms across the South. In New England, oysters and other shellfish are farmed. Coogan said the New Hampshire oyster farms are limited, with only a little over a dozen operating in Great Bay and Little Bay near Portsmouth and estuaries near Hampton.

Read the full article at News From The States

New legislation curtails offshore wind development in New Hampshire

August 18, 2025 —  New Hampshire’s Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation is losing a few words from its title. Now, it’s simply called the Office of Energy Innovation.

The name change announces an erasure of state resources once aimed at boosting offshore wind in the state. A new law signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte earlier this month eliminated most, if not all, of the language that required the office to specifically support offshore wind development.

Republican Rep. J.D. Bernardy, a sponsor of the bill, said the office will continue to remain updated on offshore wind possibilities, but the energy source will no longer be “driving [the office] forward.”

“They can look at hydrogen, they can look at battery opportunities,” Bernardy added. “It’s a full spectrum of all the various evolving energy sources that are potentially out there.”

The new law also shuts down two related state groups focused on workforce training and economic development. It’s a contrast from Gov. Chris Sununu’s administration, which had established and funded these offices in 2021, and it comes on the heels of the Trump administration rolling back support for offshore wind development by suspending new leases and rescinding funding for federal offices that would have supported those projects.

Read the full article at nhpr

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Following Trump’s executive order, New Hampshire House votes to roll back offshore wind‬

February 24, 2025 — Citing President Donald Trump’s executive order halting new federal offshore wind leases, the New Hampshire House voted Thursday to roll back offshore wind development in the state.

HB 682 would remove “offshore wind industry development” from the Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation. It would also repeal the Offshore Wind Industry Workforce Training Center Committee and the Offshore and Port Development Commission.

The legislation passed the House 206-163 largely along party lines.

Read the full article at USA Today

NEW HAMPSHIRE: USD 3 million donation will expand programming at University of New Hampshire aquaculture education center

February 18, 2025 — The Emily Landecker Foundation, a New Hampshire, U.S.A.-based nonprofit, has donated USD 3 million (EUR 2.86 million) toward ensuring the University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) Center for Sustainable Seafood Systems is able to grow its programming. 

“We have deep concerns about climate change, the world we live in, and how this could impact food availability for future generations,” a representative for the foundation said. “We live in New England, so we are keenly aware of the warming of the Gulf of Maine and how it is affecting local fisheries and other sources of food from the ocean.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NEW HAMPSHIRE: UNH receives $3 million to develop international, community-based seafood program

February 10, 2025 — As warming seas pose difficulties for seafood globally, a $3 million gift will help the University of New Hampshire develop an international, community-based seafood production program, the university announced this week.

The program will involve students from across the globe, who will participate in online and in-person classes and hands-on work as they develop aquaculture approaches “specific to their culture and communities,” the university said.

Read the full article at Valley News

ASMFC repeals proposed gauge increase

February 5, 2025 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission(ASMFC) sided with New England lobstermen and voted to repeal the proposed increase to the minimum allowable cast size of lobsters in the Gulf of Maine.

On Friday, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries announced at the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association meeting that it would join Maine and New Hampshire in rejecting the gauge increase.

Maine and New Hampshire decided to withdraw the increase following strong opposition from the fishing community in both states. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell called for the repeal of the gauge increase. In a letter to ASMFC on Feb. 3, Mayor Mitchell warned that the rule would place U.S. lobster fishermen at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to Canadian counterparts.

New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) COO Dustin Delano commented on the final decision, “NEFSA thanks the commission for hearing the voice of lobstermen. 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 the National Fisherman

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

ME and NH reject lobster gauge increase, MA stands firm

January 28, 2025 — The New England lobster industry is facing some potential challenges.

Maine and New Hampshire have announced their decision to withdraw the proposed gauge increase to the minimum legal size for lobsters being caught, following strong opposition from the fishing community. Massachusetts has announced that it still supports the gauge increase, even following recent announcements from Maine and New Hampshire.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) recently held a meeting in Augusta to discuss the proposal which aimed at raising the minimum size limits for lobsters by 1/16 of an inch. The proposed as intended to address a reported 35 percent decline in the lobster population within Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA 1), as highlighted by data from the Atlantics States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The proposal has faced fierce opposition from the lobstering communities, who feared the economic repercussions of the increase.

New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has strongly advocated for opposing the increase. Two days ago, NEFSA COO Dustin Delano stated, “Imagine losing 10 percent or 15 percent of your landings. For a fisherman catching 40,000-50,000 pounds of lobster annually, that could be a loss of up to $40,000 or $50,000- more than half of their take home income. Expenses like bait, fuel, gear, and boat payments would not decrease, but their livelihoods would.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman