Category Archives: New England
Damaged Wind Turbine that Polluted Nantucket Beaches Last Year Further Damaged in Lightning Strike
Lightning struck a wind turbine off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, last week, further damaging a turbine operated by Vineyard Wind that made headlines last year when its blade fell off, polluting the ocean and nearby beaches. “The coverup blows on. Vineyard Wind’s lack of transparency around the structural integrity of its mammoth wind turbines is deeply frustrating to fishermen,” said Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association. “In fact, Vineyard Wind officials met in February with officials from the Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement to discuss improving communications over safety issues. Foreign offshore wind developers seem breezily dismissive of commercial fishermen,” he added. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:15
Trump’s Offshore Wind Review to Consider Status of Projects
The Trump administration’s ongoing review of offshore wind projects will feature different treatment for projects actively under development versus those that have merely been proposed, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Thursday. Burgum’s comments during a visit to a natural gas export terminal in Louisiana suggest the administration may apply less scrutiny to wind farms that have already secured federal permits and are under construction. President Donald Trump indefinitely halted the sale of new offshore wind leases on his first day in office and pausing permitting of all wind projects on federal lands and waters. He also raised the specter of outright cancellations for existing leases. The president directed the Interior Department to review the “necessity of terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases” and “identifying any legal bases for such removal.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:26
Bill Belichick’s Maine girlfriend pleads with Trump to restore Sea Grant funds
Bill Belichick’s Maine girlfriend is pleading with President Donald Trump to restore Sea Grant funds. Jordon Hudson, a 23-year-old Miss Maine finalist and the daughter of a fisherman, wrote in an Instagram post pleading for Trump to restore the Sea Grant funding, “I am Jordon and I speak for the fishermen. I speak for the fishermen and for the fishermen who have no voice” before asking whether the president loves the fishermen, according to New York magazine’s The Cut. Hudson attended the 50th Maine Fisherman’s Forum in Rockport over the weekend. In one of her posts, she was pictured with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:58
“Abundance Of Scallops” Prompts Town To Seek Extension Of Commercial Season
With a huge number of bay scallops in the harbor and only a small number of fishermen still on the water, the Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board lobbied the Select Board on Wednesday to extend Nantucket’s commercial scalloping season by nine days. “There’s an abundance of adult scallops in the harbor,” Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board chair Andy Lowell told the Select Board members at their meeting this week. “There are very few scallopers active at this point. The ones who do rely on this for their livelihood have missed a lot of days due to cold weather – I believe 15 or 16 days have been missed for cold weather…It was decided to extend the season, it’s simply nine more days of fishing.” The Select Board agreed, voting unanimously in favor of the recommendation from the Harbor & Shellfish Advisory Board, commonly known as “SHAB.” But the measure will still require the endorsement of the state Division of Marine Fisheries to go into effect. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:55
Department of Commerce agrees to renegotiate Maine Sea Grant funding
The U.S. Department of Commerce has agreed to renegotiate funding for the Maine Sea Grant, five days after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration informed the University of Maine that it was discontinuing its funding for the grant. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has directed NOAA to renegotiate the terms and conditions of the Maine Sea Grant funding agreement after he and his office had conversations with Sen. Susan Collins, Maine’s senior U.S. senator, and her staff. According to Collins, Lutnick wants to ensure the work performed by the Maine Sea Grant focuses on advancing the state’s coastal economies, working waterfronts and sustainable fisheries. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:41
A Watchdog Group Told People to Not Buy Maine Lobster. Now It’s Facing a Lawsuit.
A lawsuit related to Maine’s lobster industry is no longer stuck in the claws of the legal system. A federal judge recently ruled that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and others can proceed with their defamation suit against the nonprofit Seafood Watch, The New York Times reported on Monday. The lobstermen’s group initially sued the nonprofit, which is run by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, almost two years ago, following Seafood Watch’s downgrading of Maine lobster from yellow to red in its sustainability ratings. “This ruling is a crucial step in holding the Monterey Bay Aquarium accountable for misleading statements that have unfairly targeted our industry,” Patrice McCarron, the executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said in a statement. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:49
Canadian tariffs would ‘cripple’ Maine lobster industry, state’s top fisheries leader says
Maine’s outgoing commissioner of marine resources is warning about the dire impacts of newly imposed tariffs on Canadian imports. Maine sends about $200 million worth of lobster each year to Canada, where it’s processed and sent back to the U.S. or to third markets. Marine Resources Commission Pat Keliher said the tariffs could trigger major cuts in what Maine lobstermen are paid for their catch that could “cripple” the state’s iconic fishery. “The only way for this to be made up on the cost perspective is at the boat price,” Keliher said Tuesday during an appearance on Maine Calling. “So I am very concerned that going into this year, that we are going to see all time low boat prices. And… with the declining volume of lobster, we will see, potentially hundreds of people going out of business because of these tariffs.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:50
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 73’X 20′ Steel Stern Trawler w/Federal & State Permits
To review specifications, information, with 45 photos, >click here<. To see all the boats in this series >click here< o6:38
Rhode Island’s ‘Squid Squad’ targeted in DOGE purge of NOAA
The head of squid research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Narragansett Bay facility is among the hundreds of agency employees nationwide who are no longer on the job, according to one of NOAA’s former administrators. Former National Marine Fisheries Service Administrator Janet Coit said Monday that about 20 employees from NOAA’s Rhode Island office and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts were recently dismissed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Coit shared the revelation during a roundtable discussion hosted by U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) at Save the Bay’s headquarters near the Port of Providence. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:56
Broken Vineyard Wind Turbine Struck by Lightning
The same Vineyard Wind turbine blade that snapped in half last summer now appears to have been struck by lightning, according to the company and the U.S. Coast Guard. On Sunday, officials confirmed that the turbine at the southernmost end of the Vineyard Wind lease off Martha’s Vineyard was apparently hit by lightning late last week, damaging the already broken blade. The Coast Guard reported a strike occurred on Feb. 27, and it was working with Vineyard Wind to ensure there were no navigational hazards in the area. Vineyard Wind, in a statement Sunday afternoon, said a preliminary inspection indicated that the blade had been hit by lightning, and the company was continuing to assess the damage. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:52
‘Alarm bells.’ After low oxygen scare in Cape waters, Falmouth company uses $2M to help
In a small room in the Falmouth Technology Park, Noah Van Home is assembling 450 sensors that will be scattered in waters from Maine to New Jersey to help scientists, fishermen and businesses in the blue economy learn more about the ocean. Lowell Instruments of Falmouth has been hired to manufacture the data loggers that will collect bottom water temperature and dissolved oxygen readings. The program gives fishermen and scientists a look at what’s happening in the water, not just on top of it. Longtime lobsterman David Casoni agrees. He’s been fishing for 50 years, the last four of them with data loggers tied to his lobster traps. He started using them after an episode in September 2019 when lobstermen in Cape Cod Bay started pulling up traps with dead lobsters inside. No one knew what had happened, he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:28
Once a form of currency, quahogs remain a steady source of cash
Quahogs have long been associated with money and wealth. “Quahog” comes from an Algonquian word for hard clam, but its scientific name is Mercenaria mercenaria, from the Latin for wages. In response to the scarcity of soft-shell clams, local harvesters have shifted their efforts to quahogs. From 2011-2015, the quahog harvest in Harpswell ranged from about 5,000 to 60,000 pounds. By 2023, the quahog harvest in Harpswell had skyrocketed to 458,000 pounds. In that period, the value of quahog landings also grew, from about $80,000 in 2015 to nearly $900,000. By contrast, the value of Harpswell’s soft-shell landings in 2023 was $384,000. Clearly, for Harpswell’s diggers, quahogs are now where the money is. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:40
Civically engaged lobsterman aims for Select Board seat
Cundy’s Harbor lobsterman Matthew “Matt” Gilley has become a regular presence at the Harpswell Town Office, and he hopes to become even more of a fixture by winning a three-year term on the Select Board. Gilley, who already serves on multiple boards and committees, is the only candidate running to replace Jane Covey, who chose not to seek a third term. The 40-year-old said he’d like to inject some new blood into the board and serve the broad interests of all residents, including lobstermen. A lifelong Harpswell resident, Gilley serves on the local Harbor and Waterfront Committee, Aquaculture Working Group, and Comprehensive Plan Task Force, and is an associate member of the Planning Board. He also serves on the state’s Lobster Advisory Council and represents Cundy’s Harbor on the regional Lobster Zone Council. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
Maine: Commercial fishery value increases by $75M in 2024
Commercial seafood landings earned Maine harvesters $74 million more in 2024 than the year before, according to preliminary data the Maine Department of Marine Resources released Thursday. The higher value of Maine lobsters — a year-over-year increase of $46 million — helped drive $74 million more in earnings for commercial harvesters across the board. “During a year shaped by unprecedented storms and damage to our working waterfronts, Maine’s commercial fishermen, aquaculturists, and seafood dealers once again delivered a major economic benefit to our state,” said Gov. Janet Mills. Even though in 2024, Maine’s commercial lobster fishery rose in value, about 10 million less pounds of lobsters landed on the docks. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:24
Sleeping with the fishes: It’s time to resurrect accountability in U.S. fishery regulation
If you’re expected to comply with hundreds of federal rules and regulations that affect your livelihood, wouldn’t you like to know that those rules come from people accountable to you in some way? That’s how our laws are made, after all. They come from Congress, which is accountable to the people through the democratic process. Yet much of what we call federal law comes in the form of rules that are not written by Congress but by unelected bureaucrats in hundreds of federal agencies. To make sure even bureaucrats are accountable, the Constitution usually requires them to be appointed by the president, with Senate confirmation if they have significant authority, like the power to issue rules with the force of law. Unfortunately, Congress often side-steps the Constitution by giving the job of appointing certain officers to someone else. A good example is the regulation of marine fisheries. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:40
Most Maine lobstermen have resisted alternative fishing gear. A new initiative hopes to change that
Brooke Hachey of the Sunrise County Economic Council is leading a demonstration of a kind of “on demand,” sometimes called “ropeless” lobster fishing gear. In a bid to protect North Atlantic right whales from extinction, many scientists are promoting this kind of alternative lobster fishing gear that minimizes the risks of entanglement. While some lobstermen in Massachusetts have agreed to use this new gear in exchange for accessing closed areas of Cape Cod Bay, most Maine lobstermen have been reluctant — if not outright resistant — to the new technology. The state, along with a coalition of other partners, have launched a new gear testing and lending program in effort to — at least — change the conversation. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:54
Remembering Mason Evich: GoFundMe set up for Fairhaven man killed in head-on crash
Friends and family of 28-year-old Mason Evich remember him as someone who will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him. The commercial fisherman tragically lost his life in a head-on crash on the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge on Feb. 20, and heartfelt tributes are flooding in to honor his memory. A GoFundMe, Honoring Mason’s Life with Love, was started by Ryley Santos as a tribute to Evich. To date it has raised more than $58,000, exceeding the initial $25,000 goal. A group of friends got together and wrote a tribute to Evich on GoFundMe. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ 06:53
Chiefs granted intervenor status in border-crossing lobster case
An Indigenous nation has been granted intervenor status in a case involving a U.S.-based lobster fisher accused of illegally fishing in Passamaquoddy Bay. Erik D. Francis, 55, of Perry, Maine, faces charges under the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act alleging that he illegally fished from a foreign vessel in New Brunswick waters. According to court documents, he was stopped on Nov. 15, 2022, off the coast of Deer Island by fisheries officials, who seized 36 lobster traps owned by Francis. Francis, who is self-represented, has claimed Indigenous fishing rights as a part of the Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) Nation, which has two communities in Maine including Sipayik (Pleasant Point), where Francis lives, and the community known as Skutik in Charlotte County. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:58
Commercial Fisherman Mason C. Evich, 28, of Fairhaven died February 20, 2025. He was a devoted son, brother, and loyal friend.
He was everything wonderful. If you were lucky enough to know Mason, you LOVED him. A beacon of kindness, with a gentle soul that touched everyone he met, the pain we feel in losing him is indescribable. Born in Seattle, Washington, Mason was the loving son of Dagne (Sovik) Evich and the late Adam Evich. Mason’s love for fishing was passed down from his father, a lifelong commercial fisherman. Each summer, Mason accompanied his dad to Bristol Bay, Alaska, where they salmon fished together on the family’s fishing vessel. After graduating from Fairhaven High School, Mason attended the Northeast Maritime Institute, where he earned his associate degree and captain’s license. He later worked as a mate on commercial fishing vessels out of Cape May, NJ, and New Bedford, MA. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:28
FEDERAL SCALLOPS: February 27th at Maine Fishermen’s Forum; Scallop Strategic Plan Visioning Session
Notice to all Federal Scallop interested parties: The New England Fishery Management Council is seeking input for the development of a Scallop Strategic Plan. One of four sessions is scheduled to take place during the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. Rockport, Maine: Thursday, February 27, 2025, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Samoset Resort, 220 Warrenton Street To help staff with logistics, the public can respond to an attendance form. The full press release, corrected with working links, can be found 
here. 11:00
Lobsterman/Harbormaster David Albert Herrick Sr. of Lamoine, Maine has passed away
David Albert Herrick Sr., 67, died unexpectedly, Feb. 20, 2025, outside of his “forever home” in Lamoine. He was born May 10, 1957, in Blue Hill, the son of Albert & Hildred Herrick. David graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1975 and continued his education at Washington County Vocational School studying wood harvesting. Shortly after, he married the love of his life, Julie, settling in Lamoine next to the home he grew up. After many years as a wood harvester, he switched careers to lobstering. He was a volunteer for the Fire Department, and the harbor master for the town of Lamoine. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<20:35
The Scallop Queen is Coming to the City
Togue Brown may be the daughter of a Maine lobsterman, but she wants you to fall in love with scallops. She likes lobster, sure, but once she became a fisheries management expert at the Maine Department of Marine Resources things changed. She was given a choice — focus on lobster or scallops. Whether dad liked it or not, she decided on scallops. “Lobster is so dominant in seafood,” she said. “I chose scallops to help fisherman diversify, to become less dependent on lobster because at some point that bough is gonna break.” Togue went about implementing a series of measures designed to restore Maine’s heavily depleted inshore scallop fishery. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:18
Maine’s embattled outgoing lobster official to headline regional fisheries forum
The appearance of Maine’s top lobstering official at New England’s largest fishing convention has gone unnoticed for 49 years – until this year. When the Maine Fishermen’s Forum celebrates its jubilee 50th year as the northeast’s biggest fishing gathering in Rockport, all eyes will be on Patrick Keliher. As the state’s outgoing commissioner of marine resources, Keliher “will provide an update on potential regulation changes in the industry,” the forum announced. But as he does so Keliher will be making his final marquee public appearance at the convention just 13 days before he leaves office under a political cloud. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:20
Notice to all Federal Scallop interested parties: Council Seeks Input at Scallop Strategic Plan Visioning Sessions
The New England Fishery Management Council is seeking input for the development of a Scallop Strategic Plan. One of four sessions is scheduled to take place during the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. Rockport, Maine: Thursday, February 27, 2025, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Samoset Resort, 220 Warrenton Street To help staff with logistics, the public can respond to an attendance form. The full press release, corrected with working links, can be found here. >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:15
The American lobster’s baby bust
The Gulf of Maine is home to one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States. Every year, American lobsters (Homarus americanus) from the gulf fuel a multibillion-dollar industry, buoying fishing communities across New England and across the border into Atlantic Canada. The Gulf of Maine is also heating up faster than almost any other marine environment on Earth. In the gulf, rising water temperatures and shifting currents have already triggered shocking declines in other mainstay catches, such as northern shrimp, and put surprising new species in fish traps. Now, ongoing research led by Joshua Carloni, a marine biologist with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, shows a potentially dire situation brewing for the area’s most valuable species—the lobster. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:36
How Atlantic Canada came to rule the slimy, slippery, squirmy big business of baby eels
During his lifetime, Philip Holland was known as a dedicated Crown prosecutor who put the bad guys behind bars. But his legacy could very well be the lucrative baby eel industry he started in Canada under the most modest of circumstances, keeping the tiny, squirmy critters he had plucked from cold New Brunswick rivers alive in plastic tubs in his basement before shipping them to Asia. And yet, more than two decades after his death and 36 years since he was granted an experimental licence to capture glass eels, the elver industry in Atlantic Canada has become deliriously successful, worth millions. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:17
NOAA set to slash jobs ‘imminently’
Mass firings are set to hit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “imminently,” a source with knowledge told The Hill. The person, who asked to speak anonymously due to fear of reprisals, said that the agency had not yet been subjected to the steep cuts announced elsewhere due to the then-pending confirmation of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The Commerce Department oversees NOAA and the National Weather Service. Many of the federal cuts thus far have targeted probationary workers, which includes recent hires but also those who have been recently promoted. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:34
Massachusetts: Retired Commercial Fisherman Raoul (Ray) D. Ross has passed away
Raoul (Ray) D. Ross died on February 17 at Cape Cod Hospital after a brief illness. Early in his life, Ray was drawn to the ocean and from the age of 14, except for his stint in the military, he worked as a commercial fisherman. He was a physically vital man and worked many long hours fishing in the waters off southern New England on one of his boats: the Rosalie R (which he helped design and build), the Carole R, the Jessica and Susan, and the Colleen and Melissa. After settling on Cape Cod in 1965, Ray was for years a fixture at the Ocean Street docks in Hyannis, a devoted friend and supportive member of the commercial fishing community. His advocacy and leadership included a term as President of the Massachusetts Inshore Daggerman’s Association, where he worked with regulators and legislators to represent the interests of Cape Cod fisherman. Well into his seventies, Ray was still rising at 4:00 a.m. to happily captain a boat and crew to catch squid and scup in the waters of Nantucket Sound. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:07
Following Trump’s executive order, New Hampshire House votes to roll back offshore wind
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. Along with cost, House Republicans cited harm to the ocean life as a reason for their opposition to offshore wind. “After the President’s executive order to eliminate offshore wind and turbines this bill seeks to avoid the destruction of nearby fisheries, lobster, shellfish, and whales,” wrote Rep. James Summer, R-Newton. “Offshore wind is more expensive and destructive than any other renewable energy source.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:10
Commercial Fisherman Norman E. Carter, better known as “Pepa” of Waldoboro, Maine. has passed away
Norman E. Carter, better known as “Pepa,” passed away Jan. 18, 2025, in Bremen from his battle with cancer. He was born in Damariscotta on Nov. 19, 1961, the son of Fernald and Carrie Sanborn Carter. He was a lifelong resident of Waldoboro and attended Waldoboro schools; he began his career as a fisherman. Norman went to New Bedford, Mass. and worked on a scallop boat. He made many trips there. When he was home, he was a hard worker and took care of his family as a clamdigger, lobsterman, shrimping, elvering, and other jobs. He cut his own wood and hauled it to keep his family warm; family was everything to him. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:12
