Tag Archives: Department of Marine Resources
Maine DMR closes Gouldsboro Bay and other areas to scallop fishing
The Maine scallop fishing season opened on Dec. 1 and, less than two weeks later, Department of Marine Resources closed it down in large areas of Downeast waters. Last week, DMR announced that, as of Sunday, scallop fishing in Gouldsboro and Dyer bays in Hancock County and Wohoa Bay, the Jonesport Reach and the department’s Inner Machias Rotational Area, all in Washington County, are done for this season. According to DMR, Keliher shut the fishery down in those areas “in order to protect Maine’s scallop resource due to the risk of unusual damage and imminent depletion.” Read the article here 08:29
Maine: Scallop season is under way, but maybe not for long
Maine’s winter scallop season opened last Tuesday, Dec. 1, and divers working in Blue Hill’s Salt Pond and outer harbor — both closed to draggers — got a nice surprise. According to Trisha Cheney of the Department of Marine Resources, divers in both areas were able to harvest their 15-gallon daily limit on opening day and the scallops they landed fetched an excellent price. Just how long the good news will last, around Blue Hill or elsewhere Downeast, is an open question. Read the article here 11:14
Maine – Industry confronts access issues as scallop season opens
The Maine scallop fishery opened Tuesday morning, with predictions that the boat price will be high, the season short and the pressure to let more people into the fishery intense. Last week, Trisha Cheney, the Department of Marine Resources’ scallop resource coordinator, hosted an outreach meeting in Ellsworth to give industry members a heads-up about what to expect for the coming season and to hear their concerns about the fishery and the way it is managed by DMR. Read the article here 14:00
Maine Department of Marine Resources approves reduction to scallop fishing days
The Department of Marine Resources has voted in favor of a 10-day reduction for the upcoming season. Scallop season runs from early December to mid-April, at a time when lobster fishing is not as lucrative. The area that will see a change this year, called Zone 1, runs from New Hampshire to the Penobscot River. Last season, scallop fishing in that zone was allowed on 70 days. This season, it’ll only be allowed on 60. Last year, though, the fishery saw an 18-year high in terms of profit. Maine scallops were worth almost $7.5 million. Read the rest here 07:36
Censored Maine Fishermen Seek Assurances that Searsport Dredging Won’t Harm Bay
“My name is David Black and I’m from Belfast and I fish in this area out here. Wayne fishes beside me. We are the face of the destruction that this might cause out here.” Black says he worries the material will harm the bay’s fisheries. And he says state and federal regulators have not been listening to fishermen’s concerns. “I went to a hearing on the dredging for the Department of Marine Resources in Searsport about three weeks ago,” he says, “and I wanted to make comments about the disposal site out here, and I was told that my comments were not appropriate – I could not make comments on this disposal site.” Read the rest here 08:31
Maine Elver fishermen report ‘horrible’ season
The 2015 elver fishing season has come to a disappointing end, local fishermen say. “Horrible,” fisherman Abden Simmons described it. “I don’t think I’ve caught half of what my quota was.” “Normally we have an eight-week season, but this year we had a four-week season,” Darrel Young, head of the Maine Elver Fishermen Association, said. The season actually began March 22, but Young didn’t catch his first elvers until May 3. Prices per pound of elvers ranged throughout the season from under $1,000 to a high of $2,700, Read the rest here 15:04
Passamaquoddy tribe and state trying to find middle ground over use of fyke nets
Passamaquoddy tribal leaders and the Department of Marine Resources met Tuesday morning, trying to reach some common ground about a new emergency rule. The chief of the tribe would not go into detail about what the meeting was about, but he said these meetings are because of some disagreement between the two parties, specifically the use of fyke nets . Video, Read the rest here 09:05
DMR permanently revokes licenses of Swan’s Island fisherman
For the first time ever, a commercial fisherman in Maine has had all his licenses to fish permanently revoked, according to state officials. Citing Lucas Lemoine’s history of violations, Patrick Keliher, commissioner the state Department of Marine Resources, permanently revoked his commercial fishing licenses on Tuesday, department officials indicated in a prepared statement released Thursday evening. Lemoine, 33, had licenses to fish for scallops and lobster. Read the rest here 10:32
Fishing season for commercial red drum opens New Year’s Day in Mississippi
Commercial fishermen can welcome the new year with the opening of Red drum fishing season. On January 1, 2015 Red drum season opens for commercial fishermen at 12:01 a.m. with a commercial quota of 50,000 pounds. The Department of Marine Resources or (DMR) will close that season once that quota is met. commercial red drum season opens Read the rest here 09:15
Maine scallop survey shows mixed results
LUBEC, Maine (AP) — A Maine state government survey about the density of scallops from Penobscot Bay to Lubec shows mixed results for the fishery. The survey found that the density of harvest-ready scallops was significantly higher in the Bold Coast area in 2014 than in an adjacent area in 2013. The density of harvestable scallops was also higher in the Little Kennebec and Englishman Bay area in 2014 than an adjacent area last year. The survey results say five other areas – Addison, Frenchman Bay, Swan’s Island, Isle au Haut Bay and upper Penobscot Bay – had “poor scallop abundance.” The state Department of Marine Resources performed the survey in April 2014 10:11
Maine’s Scallop Fishing Season Begins in 1 Week
Maine’s scallop season begins in one week with state regulators again focusing efforts on rebuilding the fishery. Department of Marine Resources say their 10-year rotational management plan for scallops in one of Maine’s three scalloping zones will be fully phased in this season. Read the rest here 08:43
UPDATED – Not Good: Lobsterman Jailed, Fined Over Illegal Lobsters
A Maine lobsterman who kept undersized and V-notched lobsters has been sentenced to two days in jail and fined $50,000. The Department of Marine Resources is also suspending his license for three years. Read the rest here 17:03
From pencil to computer: Lobstermen adapting to digital data collection
Just 10% of Maine’s lobster fishermen, selected randomly each year, are required to report landings and other data to the Department of Marine Resources. They use good old pen and paper, the forms provided by the DMR. In this digital age, that seems inefficient says Susan Corbett, CEO of Axiom Technologies in Machias. In recent years, she and Axiom, a broadband provider, have worked to develop an online data collection system for lobster harvesters. Read the rest here 10:10
Sen. Wicker goes fishing for information – how the DMR will handle almost $11 million in federal money
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker went on a fishing expedition Wednesday afternoon, and it wasn’t just to catch blue crabs and shrimp. It was to fish for information. While some tasty crustaceans were landed, his real purpose was to get a sense of how the DMR will handle almost $11 million in federal money to help revive the oyster and blue crab populations. Read the rest here 14:57
Maine Panel Approves 2014-15 Scallop Rules
The state Department of Marine Resources said Wednesday that the council signed off on proposed rules for the season. The rules call for the season to last from Dec. 1 to April 11. Zones one and two will have a 70-day season while zone three will have a 50-day season. Zone three includes scallop-rich Cobscook Bay. Read the rest here 16:16
Swan’s Island, Me: Islanders say lobster license waiting list unfair
At age 31, with 15 years of lobster fishing experience under his belt, Zeke Freelove is betting he won’t be able to get a lobster fishing license until he’s 50. That’s because of the state’s limited-entry system, which leaves aspiring fishermen on waiting lists for years.hat’s because of the state’s limited-entry system, which leaves aspiring fishermen on waiting lists for years. Read the rest here 14:55
Biloxi: Department of Marine Resources: Miss. Sound oyster reefs either depleted or stressed
“It’s pathetic,” said George Stores, a Bayou Caddy oysterman and member of the Oyster Task Force who was on board a state boat as reefs were surveyed. “It’s absolutely pathetic. I’ve never seen it this bad.”Read the rest here 09:24
Mississippi oysters make a comeback – for a price
The Mississippi oyster industry is bouncing back from a triple whammy — Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil disaster and the Mississippi River flood — and is still a long way from its peak 10 years ago. Just over 78,000 sacks of oysters were harvested in the reporting year that ended June 30, according to Department of Marine Resources. Read more here 08:44
Maine DMR assents to fishing season sought by Scallop Advisory Council
The state Department of Marine Resources, acceding to the wishes of the Scallop Advisory Council, has proposed that draggers and divers be allowed to fish for scallops the same number of days in 2014-15 as the previous season. <Read more here> 17:54
Scallop fishermen argue against shortening season on Cobscook Bay
DENNYSVILLE, Maine — Patrick Keliher, Commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources, came to listen to scallop fisherman on Tuesday afternoon. . Some of them gave him an earful. Leo Murray of Lubec called it “crazy.” Tracey Sawtelle of Lubec called it “baloney.” Read more here 12:12
Shrimp season looking good on opening day in Mississippi Sound
As the sun rose over the Mississippi Sound, hundreds of boats, big and small, were ready to drop the nets. A short time later, elation set in. John Guidry talked about his first drag. “45 minutes, and probably one of the best drags I’ve ever did in my life. Probably a good 50 pounds,” Guidry exclaimed. Read more here 17:41
State permanently closes lower Penobscot River to lobster fishing
BUCKSPORT, Maine — State fishery officials have decided to permanently close 7 square miles of the lower Penobscot River to lobster and crab harvesting. The closed the area in February, citing concerns about elevated mercury levels found in lobsters along that section of river. Read more here 08:43
Last-minute arrival to Maine alewives festival: the fish
Now that the alewife run has begun, King said it will accelerate quickly. At Webber Pond on Seven Mile Stream in Vassalboro, he said he counted four fish Tuesday, 1,000 on Wednesday and more than 3,000 by midafternoon Friday. “For the environment, it’s a huge win,” said Jeffrey Pierce, president of the Alewife Harvesters of Maine. However, Pierce said the prevalence of predators raises new questions about wildlife management. Read more here 09:13
South Mississippi’s recreational and charter fishermen want more snapper
BILOXI — If South Mississippi recreational fishermen and charter boat operators had their way, they would get a larger share of the red snapper quota. That was the message of voting Tuesday night at the Red Snapper Summit put on by the state Department of Marine Resources. Read more here 13:32
Elver penalties mount amid extra scrutiny in Maine – Up to 14 fishermen face license suspensions
Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources, sits at the head of a conference table in his office in Hallowell, flanked by three marine resources officers and an assistant attorney general. Across the table sits Sean Manning, an elver fisherman from Sullivan with red eyes, a runny nose and a devastated expression. Keliher slides a box of tissues in Manning’s direction and asks him if he wants to say anything before the state revokes his elver fishing license. portlandpress Read more here 09:28
Pesticide board to focus new tests on protecting lobsters
AUGUSTA, Maine — The state Board of Pesticides Control is preparing to embark on a new program of water monitoring — sediment monitoring, more precisely — to focus on protecting marine life, particularly the state’s valuable lobster fishery. Read more here 08:45
New speckled trout rules will affect commercial fishermen
The most frequently caught fish in the Gulf will soon be off limits to part-time fishermen. The rule was needed because recreational fishermen were buying commercial licenses and selling their catches. Read more here 03:07
The Downeast Salmon Federation hopes ‘planting’ salmon eggs in rivers will restore population
The technique simulates natural activities of salmon reproduction. A female salmon creates a nest, called a redd, in the gravel of a streambed or riverbed in the fall. Using her tail, the fish scoops out a pit, lays her eggs, then covers them with gravel to protect them until they hatch in the spring. Read [email protected] 08:05
Scientists back off claims that Maine officials knew about mercury-tainted lobster years ago
A day after saying state officials knew lobsters near the mouth of the Penobscot River contained unsafe levels of the toxin, researchers say the officials had older information that did not warrant issuing consumer alerts in 2010. But on Friday, after talking among themselves, the researchers said they had misremembered what information had been made available to the state and when it was made available. Read more@kennebecjournal 11:02
Lobsterman to find new place for traps after lobstering banned downstream from former chemical plant
“It’s a very unfortunate thing,” he said Wednesday. “I hope that the state’s making the decision on good facts. I certainly do understand that decision. We have to protect the status of the Maine lobster at all costs. We’ve got to make sure we don’t do anything to jeopardize that. It’s unfortunate [the closure] is in the area where I’m fishing.” Darren Shute of Stockton Springs. Read more@BDN 08:49
