Tag Archives: Gulf of Maine

What You Need to Know About Cod

As a large, naturally abundant fish, cod has been eaten by various human populations for centuries. While both of America’s Atlantic cod fisheries are overfished, American stocks of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) are not. What’s more, various other cod fisheries are located around the globe, some over-exploited, others not. The fish’s prevalence, along with its suitability for eating, means that despite dwindling numbers, cod remains a stalwart of many cuisines. However, there are many things about cod that aren’t widely known. It might surprise some people to learn that cod hunt for prey. They eat a variety of animals, ranging from worms to lobsters and even small fish. Such a diet means cod are capable of growing up to an impressive length of six feet and a weight of over 100 pounds. more, >>click to read<< 11:52

 

Feds announce areas where offshore wind can go in Gulf of Maine

Federal regulators have made a final designation of roughly 2 million acres in the Gulf of Maine where offshore wind turbines can be deployed to help provide power to New England. The boundary set by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management does not include any part of the federal lobster management area 1. That fishing area extends from state waters about three miles offshore to about 40 miles. The closest the designated federal wind energy area comes to Maine’s coast is just outside the fishing zone. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said Friday that it appreciates that the fishing zone is excluded from the wind area approved by BOEM. But it said that it remains “steadfast” in its position that industrial wind power development does not belong anywhere in the Gulf of Maine. more, >>click to read<< 12:39

Maine Lobstermen’s Association tallies its victories, future risks at annual meeting

“Every year, there is a new issue facing the industry,” Tristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), said as the trade organization opened its 70th annual meeting during the Maine Fishermen’s Forum on March 1. For lobstermen and the commercial lobster fishery, there are three big issues facing the industry: protecting North Atlantic right whales, maintaining a sustainable fishery and the federal leasing in the Gulf of Maine for floating offshore wind energy — plus the myriad of federal and state regulations and public hearings and, at times, lawsuits, that go with them. 8 photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:44

Commercial fisheries landings increased more than $25 million in value in 2023

Preliminary numbers for commercial seafood landings in 2023 released today show a strong year for the industry, with commercial fishermen earning $611,277,692 — an increase of $25 million — for 204,684,775 pounds of seafood brought in to state docks. Despite a warming Gulf of Maine, intense storms and the damage to working waterfronts and lower lobster landings, “the Maine seafood industry continues to be a powerful economic engine for our state,” said Governor Janet Mills. Statewide, 93,734,116 pounds of lobsters landed on docks for a $461,371,720 value, an increase of about $72 million. The value represents what is paid at the docks to fishermen, dollars that flow throughout local communities and the state’s overall economy. Stonington is the top port for commercial seafood value this year, bringing in $47.37 million of value, and the second port, behind Portland, for pounds — 13.98 million. more, >>click to read<< 12:54

Floating offshore wind experts say they want to coexist with Maine lobstermen, but lobstermen say no thanks

Lobstermen asked pointed questions Thursday about a planned offshore floating wind array that they fear will take away fishing grounds and potentially disrupt the species they rely on to make a living. “Offshore wind overall we have a lot of issues with,” Virginia Olsen, political director of the Maine Lobstering Union said. “We know it will be industrializing our ocean and as fishermen we just don’t want to see that happen.” During the Thursday presentation, state officials and consultants working on the floating array emphasized they want to work toward “coexistence” between the new technology and the fishing industry. But that didn’t sit well with some of the lobstermen, who said they don’t want to co-exist with the turbines. more, >>click to read<< 06:50

Maine’s lobster fishermen struggle with efforts to save right whales

Willis Spear stands in the backyard of his Yarmouth, Maine home. Behind him are dozens of yellow and green lobster traps. Spear, 67, spends most of the winter preparing these traps to be deployed in the Gulf of Maine come April. It’s a task this lifelong lobster fisherman has carried out each year since he was a child. “The water gives us life,” Spear said on an unusually warm winter day in late February. Over the last decade, lobster fishermen in Maine have faced increasingly stronger financial headwinds, from the price of fuel to the revenue they are receiving for the lobster themselves. The lobster-fishing industry generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Maine’s economy each year. Video, more, >>click to read<< 18:37

A day on the ocean with Maine’s tough winter scallopers

Their day began in the 5:30 a.m. darkness, when Josh Todd and his father, Alex Todd, steamed the F/V Jacob & Joshua from Chebeague Island to Littlejohn Island, where they picked up Blanchard. As Alex Todd piloted his boat to the day’s fishing ground west of Eagle Island, Josh Todd and Blanchard readied the vessel’s eight-foot, 1,500-pound dredge where it hung from scaffolding at the stern. Once in position, Blanchard lowered the dredge on a quarter-inch steel cable. The Jacob & Joshua shuddered, and the rigging groaned, as the dredge bit into the graveled sea floor, roughly 80 feet below. 8 photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:15

Scotian Shelf shrimp fishery braces for another cut

For a third straight year, the shrimp fishery off eastern Nova Scotia is facing a big quota cut with ocean conditions to blame. The recent scientific assessment for northern shrimp on the eastern Scotian Shelf showed environmental factors — including warmer ocean water due to climate change — are contributing to the poor condition of the stock, he says. And the response, he predicts, will be a reduction in the total allowable catch. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is expected to announce the 2024 shrimp quota in several weeks. more, >>click to read<< 10:59

Wide-ranging meeting covers gauge changes, ropeless gear, damage repair – DMR to lobstermen: We need your data

The Maine Department of Marine Fisheries held its January 29 Lobster Zone C Council meeting in Stonington Town Hall, drawing more than four dozen fishermen, marine scientists and local politicians eager to weigh in on a number of policy initiatives. Among the topics: the timeline for changes to gauge and vent sizes that were triggered due to declining juvenile lobster abundance; challenges to Canadian management practices; and plans to spend $17 million allocated last year by Congress to develop better science around lobstering’s impact on North Atlantic right whale mortality. Keliher kicked off the meeting with a discussion of impending gauge-size changes under Addendum XXVII, a management strategy adopt by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to increase protection of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank spawning stock. more, >>click to read<< 07:57

Flooding smashes Maine’s coast, destroying historic buildings and forcing rescues

A massive Saturday storm brought record flooding and high winds to coastal Maine, destroying iconic fishing shacks along a South Portland beach and forcing rescues farther down the coast. Damage was heavy in the Portland area around the highest tide of the season around noon. Some of the biggest casualties were three fishing shacks that sat on Fisherman’s Point and had interior timbers that are more than 200 years old. They were washed away as the high tide came in around noon Saturday. Video, photos, >>click to read<< 07:22

Massachusetts lobstermen drop lawsuit against California aquarium that told people to stop eating lobster

The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association has ended its fight against a California aquarium that says people shouldn’t buy and eat lobster because of the risks the fishery poses on the endangered North Atlantic right whale. A federal judge in the Northern District of California on Monday dismissed a class action lawsuit that four Bay State lobstermen filed last March against the Monterey Bay Aquarium after the two sides agreed to end the months-long dispute with prejudice. Monterey Bay in September 2022 gave the American lobster a “red rating” on its Seafood Watch, recommending consumers to avoid the species caught by trap from the Gulf of Maine, Southern New England and Georges Bank stocks. more, >>click to read<< 19:32

NOAA Fisheries Extends Emergency Measures for Gulf of Maine Haddock Quota through Remainder of Fishing Year 2023

Effective January 9, 2024 – At the New England Fishery Management Council’s request, NOAA Fisheries took emergency action to increase the Gulf of Maine (GOM) haddock acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the 2023 fishing year. NOAA Fisheries increased the fishing year 2023 ABC to the fishing mortality associated with the maximum sustainable yield (FMSY) (2,515 mt). The emergency measures were included in the final rule for Framework Adjustment 65 (88 FR 56527; August 18, 2023). The emergency measures will expire on February 14, 2024, under the Magnuson-Stevens Act’s initial 180-day limit on the duration of an emergency action. more, links, >>click to read<< 19:40

‘When the Island Had Fish’ is a portrait of Vinalhaven through its most prominent industry

Vinalhaven Island sits like a plug between the Gulf of Maine’s offshore gyre and the estuaries, marshes and shallows of upper Penobscot Bay. After the melting of the continental ice sheet 13,000 years ago, these waters became some of the richest fishing grounds on earth. “When the Island Had Fish” tells the story of fish and fishing around Vinalhaven, focusing on the industry’s impact on the people of this singular place. It’s presented as history, garnished with some science and statistics, but at heart, this is an ethnography of a Maine fishing community. Janna Malamud Smith is the participant-observer, and her friends and acquaintances on Vinalhaven, where she summered for 30 years, are her informants. more, >>click to read<< 14:10

Scallop season is underway

In pitch-black morning, the scallop draggers start heading out Penobscot Bay to be ready one-half hour before the sun rises in Augusta to drop their drags overboard and begin a day’s work. Daylight here already broke the horizon as the scallop fishery opens for the day in the Gulf of Maine. “When the season opens, it’s like the first day of school,” said David Tarr, a scalloper off Naskeag Point and a member of the state’s scallop advisory council. Now two weeks into the season, and Tarr says, “I think it’s been a good opening. Boats are keeping local. Whether dragging or diving, the daily limit is 15 gallons of meat that sells anywhere from $12 to $23 per pound, depending on its size. 8 photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:55

Fishermen submit hundreds of comments on leasing Gulf of Maine for offshore wind

During the 33-day comment period, BOEM held six online meetings Nov. 1-3 to discuss the draft areas and three proposed secondary areas not included in the draft, and to answer questions and hear feedback from specific stakeholder groups, such as commercial and recreational fishermen, environmental nonprofits and the shipping and transportation sector. So, what did everyone have to say? When it comes to commercial fisheries, gaps in the data that inform where WEAs will least conflict with fishing remain a top concern, as do the cables running the power to shore. Also of concern are certain quadrants included in the draft WEAs, which some at the meetings said are spawning areas for haddock and redfish. more, >>click to read<< 08:27

Lobstermen watching closely as federal regulators refine area for potential offshore wind

Lobster fishermen are watching closely as regulators continue to refine an area in the Gulf of Maine that could be used for offshore wind development, and they’re looking for more reassurances that the federal government will avoid popular fishing grounds. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has identified a 3.5 million acre draft area off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts that could be used for commercial offshore wind development. That proposed area excludes most of Lobster Management Area (LMA) 1, a popular offshore fishing area in Maine. But Zach Jylkka of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said some fishing grounds near or part of LMA 1 are still being studied and may be up for consideration, because they would be less expensive to develop. >>click to read<< 21:50

Fishermen in Maine lobbied to keep wind farms out of crucial fishing grounds. Will it happen in N.S.?

A no-compromise lobbying campaign by Maine lobster harvesters has helped keep wind farms out of a crucial lobster fishing area in the Gulf of Maine. And that has some fishermen in Nova Scotia casting an envious eye south of the border. “I’m pleased to see that happen in Maine. We’d like to see the same sort of diligence taken in Nova Scotia,” said Tommy Amirault, a fisherman from Pubnico and president of the Coldwater Lobster Association. “Maine obviously has concerns. It would be nice to see both provincial and federal governments take our concerns into practice,” Amirault said. “We didn’t mince words that we opposed offshore wind anywhere in the Gulf of Maine. It’s one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. And we really didn’t think that this is the place to solve the renewable energy crisis,” said McCarron. In Nova Scotia, the process has just begun. He said it’s no surprise fishermen have concerns about where it happens. >>click to read<< 06:57

House Republicans rebuff move by Golden to block offshore wind in Gulf of Maine lobster area

Majority Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives rejected an attempt by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, to use federal spending to block offshore wind development in a lobster fishing area of the Gulf of Maine. Golden, who tried to amend 2024 appropriations legislation for the Department of Interior, said he will try again to bar offshore wind development in what’s known as Lobster Management Area 1. His measure sought to prevent funding to lease, license, permit or provide any authorization to develop offshore wind energy that could jeopardize lobster fishing. “Offshore wind development in the Gulf’s most productive fishing grounds is a threat to Maine fishermen’s way of life,”>>click to read<< 07:28

Delano: Biden administration won’t leave lobstermen alone

Lawmakers and a federal appeals court last year defeated a federal plan to save endangered whales by eradicating New England’s lobster industry. With those plans undone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is crafting a workaround scheme to regulate lobstermen out of the fishery. Recent years have been brutal going for lobstermen, such that the survival of our trade is highly uncertain. Lobstermen are at once negotiating higher fuel costs, higher bait costs, higher shipping costs, and an agitation campaign from dark money nonprofits trained on major buyers of Maine lobster products. NOAA’s new regulatory plan is poised to decimate our inventory. >>click to read<< 09:18

BOEM Announces Gulf of Maine Draft Wind Energy Area Meetings for Fishing Community

This notice is being sent as a courtesy to help raise awareness of a comment opportunity and public meetings being held by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding a Draft Wind Energy Area (WEA) in the Gulf of Maine. It is critically important that members of the fishing industry comment on this proposal.nDMR also encourages fishing industry members to click on this link to read the statement from Governor Mills and Maine’s Congressional Delegation, expressing opposition to inclusion of draft WEAs in LMA1. On October 19, 2023, BOEM announced a Draft Wind Energy Area (Draft WEA) in the Gulf of Maine and an accompanying 30-day public comment period. The Draft WEA covers around 3.5 million acres offshore Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, ranging from 23-120 miles off the coast.  BOEM invites you to attend virtual public meetings where BOEM will outline the data and the information used to inform the Draft WEA and provide opportunity for feedback from the fishing community and public-at-large. Lots of links and info, >>click te read<< 15:31

Maine Lobstermen Win Giant Carveout From Offshore Wind Development Area

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is rolling out designated offshore wind leasing areas off the lower 48 states at a rapid clip, racing to meet the Biden administration’s target of 30 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. For the latest – a 3.5 million acre parcel in the Gulf of Maine – it has decided to dodge a looming fight with fishing and environmental interests.  The newly-released Draft Wind Energy Area for the Gulf of Maine has enough room for up to 40 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, with a focus on floating wind installations in deeper water. The size is notable, but the most conspicuous part is the part that was left out: Lobster Management Area 1, a strip along the coast that is essential to the powerful Maine lobster industry. >>click to read<< 09:08

From the Gulf of Maine to a tin can: A glimpse into high-end tuna production on NH’s coast

“I left today at, like, 12 midnight,” he said, his face hidden behind mirrored sunglasses and a beard. “And then it’s about an hour and a half ride out, and it was beautiful last night because that big fat moon is waning.” Keper Connell is a one-man operation aboard his boat, The Figment. When conditions allow, he cruises into the Gulf of Maine in search of bluefin tuna, a torpedo-shaped fish that can reach more than 1,000 pounds. Rather than sell his bluefin to a wholesaler, where cuts may end up in a fishmonger’s display case, or as toro on a sushi menu, Connell is doing something that nobody else in the U.S. is apparently doing. His fish is put on ice and sent to Oregon, where it will be packed into tin cans with a high end olive oil and some salt. (There are no canneries on the East Coast where an independent fisherman can bring his catch, he says.) Photos, >>click to read<< 11:07

Fishermen slam Biden admin’s offshore wind push as threat to jobs, sea life

The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) on Monday released an Offshore Wind Research Summary, a compilation of scholarly articles that identify dangers offshore wind farms pose to ocean ecosystems. “We cannot industrialize the Gulf of Maine until we understand how the wind industry interacts with the fisheries that wild harvesters have stewarded responsibly for decades,” said Jerry Leeman, NEFSA CEO and a longtime commercial fishing captain. Leeman says that the government’s attempt to justify wind farms leans on “voodoo science” because the proper methods and sufficient amount of time have not been applied.  “The problem is the science that wraps around the science, the whole purpose for it is misinterpreted to the public through the fact that they think they’re getting real, accurate science,” Leeman said. >click to read<

Fishermen’s Alliance Highlights Offshore Wind Threat to Haddock, Lobster Fisheries in Gulf of Maine

An alliance of groups representing New England’s fishermen is highlighting scientific research that suggests offshore wind development could have “population-scale effects” on key fish and crustacean species in the Gulf of Maine, including electromagnetism-induced deformities in lobsters. The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) on Monday released an “Offshore Wind Research Summary” summarizing the existing scientific research on the environmental impact of offshore wind power development. The scientific evidence, they believe, shows that offshore wind development would have unpredictable and potentially harmful consequences for key marine species, such as lobster and haddock. >click to read< 17:37

Leeman: Maine must hit pause on offshore wind turbines

You wouldn’t buy a house without an inspection, so why would we fill the Gulf of Maine with wind turbine superstructures without understanding how they interact with the marine environment? Offshore wind energy features too many unknowns to proceed at this point with widescale ocean industrialization. That’s why my organization, the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has joined with partner organizations to call on state and federal authorities to reset our renewable energy policy. The state of Maine is developing a floating offshore wind research array at a 15-square-mile site in the Gulf of Maine. >click to read< 08:17

NOAA Fisheries Announces Common Pool Area Closure for Gulf of Maine Cod

Effective at 4:15 pm on July 27, 2023 – Statistical areas 513 and 514 are closed for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2023. This closure applies to all common pool vessels fishing on a groundfish trip with trawl, sink gillnet, or longline/hook gear, including handgear vessels. The closure is required because 90 percent of the Trimester 1 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod has been caught. This area will reopen at the beginning of Trimester 2, at 0001 hours, September 1, 2023. >click to read< 12:58

Maine Fishermen, scientists find flaws in potential wind energy lease areas

BOEM officials called the meeting to review newly released draft maps of where federal leases could be offered in the Gulf of Maine, known as the “call” area. They wanted fishermen’s feedback to see where the maps fell short based on what fishermen know from working on the water. “This is very difficult for our industry to face,” said Dustin Delano, New England Fishermen Stewardship’s chief operating officer, former vice president of the Maine Lobster Association and a fourth-generation lobsterman out of Friendship. “A lot of us feel this is going to wipe us off the map.” The fishermen present were unconvinced but resigned. >click to read< 07:55

Meet the Women Making Waves in Maine’s Tough Lobster Industry

When Krista Tripp was 18, she’d completed all of the hours at sea necessary to get her captain’s license, but her parents submitted her brother’s paperwork to the State of Maine and not hers. Why? Even though Krista had been hauling traps since she was eight years old and running her own boat since 15, the expectation was that now she’d settle down and start having babies. “My brother and I shared the boat, we had 150 traps, and I became obsessed at an early age,” Tripp recalls. “I knew that was what I wanted to do. But, as a girl, my parents didn’t really take me seriously.” Tripp would spend the next few years working as a sternman off of a scallop boat in Massachusetts. Eventually, she returned to Maine, and after 14 years, she got herself off the waiting list and became the captain of her own lobster boat. Today, she has been captaining her own lobster boat for more than eight years. Photos, >click to read< 14:23

Proposal before Maine lawmakers would jumpstart offshore wind projects

Maine is poised to launch an offshore wind program that would meet clean energy goals and produce enough power for about 900,000 homes from floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine. The bill was revised after a veto by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to ensure non-union companies can get into the business, setting a path to approval by the Maine Senate and House on Tuesday. Approval would put Maine on a path to catch up with other states that already have offshore wind projects. It also includes incentives aimed at ensuring wind power developers steer clear of lucrative lobster fishing grounds. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mark Lawrence, D-York, said he believes the compromise bill has necessary “guardrails in place to make sure this is done right and truly benefits Mainers.” >click to read< 11:23

Gloucester Fishing industry reps raise concerns about wind energy areas

Commercial fisherman Al Cottone, executive director of the Gloucester Fisheries Commission, and Angela Sanfilippo, executive director of the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership and president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, outlined the fishing industry’s concerns with offshore wind development. “First of all the construction process, the areas that are going to be used will probably be lost forever for commercial fishing,” Cottone said. “There are going to be a lot of losers when it comes to activity within these areas. You are not going to be able to find an area to put these arrays where someone is not going to lose their ability to fish and make a living,” Cottone said. He said this was a critical time for the local fishing industry. >click to read< 07:46