Saving Seafood

MAINE: $1 million for Maine working waterfront projects

October 27, 2026 — SEA Maine has awarded $1 million to five projects to strengthen working waterfront infrastructure and support Maine’s commercial fishing and seafood industries.

The funding, awarded through the Seafood Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (SIAF), will support projects in Tremont, Rockland, Freeport, Swan’s Island, and Boothbay Harbor. Grants range from $126,693 to $300,000 and will pay for improvements including cold storage, docks and floats, ice-making equipment, energy upgrades, and waterfront planning.

“I’m pleased to see these projects benefit from SIAF funding and am optimistic that this funding will result in a stronger, more vibrant future for Maine’s commercially harvested and farmed seafood resources,” said Togue Brawn, SEA Maine co-chair and owner of Downeast Dayboat.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

SeaMaine awards USD 1 million in grant funding to five Maine towns for infrastructure repair

October 23, 2026 — Augusta, Maine, U.S.A.-based industry-led initiative Seafood Economic Accelerator for Maine (SeaMaine) recently awarded a total of USD 1 million (EUR 891,050) in grant funding to five community infrastructure projects statewide.

Projects were identified through the initiative’s Seafood Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (SIAF) and will target improvement projects in marine facilities in Tremont, Rockland, Freeport, Swan’s Island, and Boothbay Harbor, according to a release by the organization.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Scallop closures announced

March 10, 2021 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources has instituted an emergency scallop fishing closure in the St. Croix River in Zone 3; and expanded existing closures in Frenchman Bay, Swan’s Island and Isle au Haut rotational areas.

“The department is concerned that continued harvesting for the remainder of the 2020-21 fishing season in these areas will reduce scallop broodstock further, as well as jeopardize sublegal scallops that were observed in the 2020 spring scallop survey that is essential to the ongoing recruitment, regrowth and recovery of the scallop resource,” according to the notice of emergency rulemaking. “An immediate conservation closure is necessary to reduce the risk of unusual damage and imminent depletion of the scallop resource in these four scallop resource areas.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Maine enacts fishing closures to help protect scallops

January 20, 2021 — Maine fishery regulators have begun implementing scallop fishing closures to try to protect the population of the valuable shellfish.

Maine’s winter scallop fishery is one of the most lucrative in the state. The state uses localized fishing closures to allow young scallops to grow to maturity.

The closures that went into effect this week apply to the Englishman Bay, Addison, Isle au Haut and Swans Island areas.

Read the full story at the Associated Press