Category Archives: New England
Fishermen could face stricter catch limits as Trump slashes NOAA
On a recent Wednesday, many crews on New Bedford’s fishing piers were doing gear work for their next trip, as Eric Hansen repaired the cabinets in the galley of The Intrepid, one of his two scallop boats. People on the docks have known for weeks about the mass firing at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but Hansen said most people don’t realize how it will affect them yet. “Some are welcoming the cuts, saying that the government has been their downfall and there’s too many regulations,” Hansen said. “And I don’t share that opinion.” Hansen, a former captain from a fishing family where five consecutive generations entered the industry, said that’s because he remembers when the scallop fishery hit rock bottom. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:54
A woman in a (lobster)man’s world
At 81, Susan Michaud is a lifelong lobsterman, born into a family deeply rooted in the trade. “My father had three girls, and I happened to be the middle child, so I became the son,” she said. When Michaud started high school at 14, her father found a unique way to support her financially — by putting her to work. He made it clear he wouldn’t be giving her any spending money, but he did provide her a 16-foot wooden Amesbury skiff, 50 traps, bait and a crate. He told her he would sell the lobsters she caught and give her the money. Michaud had already joined the Atlantic Lobstermen’s Co-Operative, which allowed her to sell them directly. “For four years, I went lobstering with my 50 traps. It was fantastic,” she said. “I saw a girlfriend the other day, and she said, ‘You know, you were the only one in high school who had money. You were the only one who had their own car.” photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
Rep. Paul Presents Bills to Protect Sears Island from Offshore Wind Development
Protecting Sears Island from exploitative development has been a mission of its Waldo County defenders for decades, and the latest leader in this effort wants to make sure that it is not turned into a port for controversial wind turbines. On Wednesday, the Maine’s Legislative Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held public hearings on Wednesday for two bills from Rep. Reagan Paul (R-Winterport) that would codify protections for Sears Island into law and prevent it from being developed for that offshore turbines that have raised the ire of fishermen up and down the coast. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:14
Lifelong lobsterman Elmer R. Witham of Owls Head, Maine, has passed away
Elmer R. Witham passed away on March 3, 2025, at his home in Owls Head, surrounded by family. Elmer was born on Feb. 16, 1940, to the late Clayton R. Witham and Constance M. Gardner. He grew up in Rockland, attended local schools, and enjoyed a full social life until his later years. He began working as a lobsterman at a young age, and remained a lobsterman all of his working life, fishing the grounds around Large Green Island until health issues forced him into retirement. He never lost his drive and passion for lobstering. Even when his health no longer permitted him to work, he always followed the local lobster trade, catching up with the news of fellow lobstermen, and keeping an eye on the weather. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:015
Fishing industry asks Supreme Court to hear case against Vineyard Wind
A national fishing industry group and conservation think tank have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their lawsuits challenging the approval of the Vineyard Wind project, which has been under construction since 2023. The lobbying group, Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), sued the lead government regulator of offshore wind in early 2022, alleging the agency violated several acts, including those to protect existing ocean users and endangered species. At the crux of RODA’s appeal to the Supreme Court is the language of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and particularly, how the federal government interpreted it. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:52
N.S. premier promoting seafood, minerals on New York, Boston trade junket
Nova Scotia’s premier is promoting the province’s seafood and critical mineral deposits on a tour that will take him to Boston and New York this week and next. “Now, more than ever, we have to diversify our economy,” Houston said in a government release. “We have to go where the buyers are. Nova Scotia has a lot to offer, from high-quality products like seafood and resources like critical minerals.” The province exported more than a billion dollars’ worth of lobster in 2024, making lobster its second largest export. The two countries that collectively import about 80 per cent of live Nova Scotia lobsters are China and the United States, both of which have said lobster will face tariffs in the coming weeks. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:28
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 54’x17′ Fiberglass Dragger, 451HP Cummins X15 Diesel
To review specifications, information, with 21 photos, >click here<. To see all the boats in this series >click here< 06:15
Trump firings hit NOAA scientists, analysts on South Coast
Federal cuts ordered by the Trump administration reached Massachusetts in late February, when the NOAA Fisheries’ workforce from Maine to North Carolina was slashed. Hundreds more cuts may happen this week, when department heads must meet a deadline to submit proposals for “large-scale” reductions in force at their respective agencies to not only terminate people but eliminate their positions altogether. This means more scientists and analysts who protect and manage the country’s commercial fisheries may soon lose their jobs. Their terminations have raised concerns about the future of the fishing industry, the science that underlies its management, and the people who rely on it for work and for food. “How many fishermen are left, and how many regulators and scientists are left to manage us? Try to get that number,” Tony Alvernaz said, suggesting there are too many regulators for what he sees as a struggling and overregulated industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:50
Body caught in fishing nets off Mass. coast appears to be woman buried at sea
Authorities have released new details on the wrapped body that was caught by fishermen off the coast of Massachusetts last week. The person’s death is not considered suspicious, the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office said Monday, and appears to be consistent with having been buried at sea. The person was a woman in her 60s who had cancerous tumors. She is not likely to be identified but there were no indications of foul play, prosecutors said. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 20:48
Wrapped, decomposed body pulled out of nets by fishermen off Boston coast
Early Friday morning a fishing vessel that wanted to remain unnamed pull a wrapped, decomposed body out of their fishing nets approximately 40 miles offshore of Boston. The body was wrapped in a blue tarp and the body itself- severely decomposed – was bound around the torso with white rope keeping the arms to the person’s side. “The body, which was wrapped and in a state of decomposition, is now with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsy purposes,” said the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office who is investigating alongside the Coast Guard. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:59
China slaps 25 per cent tariff on N.S. lobster, throwing seafood industry into turmoil
Chinese counter tariffs on Canadian seafood will include east coast lobster. Nova Scotian exporters have heard directly from buyers in China that the 25 per cent tariff goes into effect March 20. “For America and China to simultaneously, and for entirely different reasons, target Canadian seafood is incredibly poor luck, and beyond that it is incredibly hard to comprehend,” Stewart Lamont, owner of Tangier Lobster, said on Sunday. Just over 40 per cent of Nova Scotia’s live lobster exports go to China. About 40 per cent of live lobster exports, along with 70 per cent of frozen processed lobster, go to the United States. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:10
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
