Tag Archives: Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Maine Fishermen’s Forum Awards $52,000.00 in Scholarships to Children from Maine Fishing Families
The Maine Fishermen’s Forum is pleased to announce that $52,000 in scholarships was awarded to children from Maine fishing industry families at the 49th annual Forum event held from February 29-March 2, 2024. Two scholarships were funded by an anonymous donation in the amount of $16,000, and a record breaking $36,000 was raised from a silent and live auction, along with other cash contributions. Senator Angus King drew the names of two lucky winners, Leighia Gray of Deer Isle, and Lake Lindelof of Islesboro who each received $8000.00. All other applicants received a $1500.00 award. Forum President Hank Soule said, “We’re truly grateful for the generosity of all those who contributed to our annual scholarship fund, and we’re delighted to make these awards to children from Maine fishing families”. For more information about the Maine Fishermen’s Forum and its Scholarship Fund, please visit https://mainefishermensforum.org/education/scholarships/ 08:07
Maine Fishermen’s Forum Honors Cape Elizebeth Fire Department Water Extrication Team
During a special presentation at the 2024 Maine Fishermen’s Forum, the Cape Elizabeth Fire Department’s Water Extrication Team (WET) was recognized for its dramatic rescue of the crew from the Maine fishing vessel Tara Lynn II. In the early hours of January 13, 2024, a May Day call was broadcast from the Tara Lynn II, a 49- foot fishing trawler that had been wrecked on the rocks of Trundy Point in Cape Elizabeth, ME. Four people were trapped on board. more, >>click to read<< 10:41
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 Fishermen’s Forum begins Thursday at Samoset in Rockport: shellfish, wind power, working waterfront access
Patrick Keliher, Commission of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, will be the keynote speaker at 70th annual meeting of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, March 1, at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, in Rockport. The Fishermen’s Forum, now in its 49th year, begins Thursday, Feb. 29, with seminars and the trade show, and continues through Saturday, culminating with an annual dance. The Maine Fishermen’s Forum is a three-day annual event held over the first weekend in March at the Samoset Resort. The Forum brings together fishermen, sea farmers, gear suppliers, state and federal scientists and regulators, and other stakeholders for education, collaboration, commerce, and more. The trade show and seminars are free to attend. more, >>click to read<< 07:03
Coronavirus: Maine Fishermen’s Forum board of directors has canceled the 2021 event
“There is no possible way that we can protect our forum participants in such a tight environment, due to COVID-19 and required safety restrictions,” Steve Train, a lobster fisherman on Casco Bay’s Long Island and president of the forum’s board of directors, wrote in an Oct. 21 letter to commercial fishermen and posted to the forum’s website. The letter added, “The board intends to continue serving the commercial fishing industry throughout 2021. We will be meeting soon to discuss options, and will share more details as they become available.” >click to read< >mainefishermensforum.org< 08:02
Impending whale protections worry fishermen
With the majority of American lobsters caught in Maine, the state’s lobster fishermen could bear the brunt of changes in federal fishery regulations to save the endangered right whale. At the March 1 Fisherman’s Forum update on the threat of extinction for the North Atlantic right whale, it became clear regulators believe changes to fishing gear will be announced sometime this year. Right whale presentation – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official Mike Asaro explained that most of the remaining 450 North Atlantic right whales are male, with a population of about 100 females,,,. >click to read<16:17
Lobster landings post turnaround, Maine’s fisheries’ overall value second highest on record
Maine’s lobster harvesters had a strong year in 2018, landing 119.64 million pounds. That was an increase of nearly 8 million pounds over 2017’s figure of 111.9 million pounds, according to a Department of Marine Resources news release. The landings peak was in 2016, when 132.6 million pounds were harvested, after four years in the range of 122 million to 127 million pounds, according to the agency’s data. Last year was the seventh time in history that landings exceeding 110 million pounds. At $484.544 million, the value of Maine’s lobster fishery climbed by more than $46 million over 2017 on the strength of a boat price that increased from $3.92 per-pound in 2017 to $4.05 in 2018. >click to read<14:34
Time tension line-cutter could offer lobstermen a whale entanglement solution
A Maine lobsterman and machinist believes he could have the solution to North Atlantic right whale entanglement issues in the state’s lobster fishery. Ben Brickett of Blue Water Concepts presented – or more accurately re-presented – his idea for a “Time Tension Line-Cutter” at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum on 1 March. The technology, which he invented over a decade ago, provides a solution for whale entanglements that doesn’t compromise rope strength or require any electronics. >click to read<11:26
Annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum underway
Hundreds of fishermen and their families gathered at the Samoset Resort for the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum. They host gear suppliers, scientists, vendors that sell the latest technology and much more. “There’s gear, the Coast Guard and you have resources here. There’s a lot of conversations, a lot of seminars. Get everyone together and kind of swap ideas and see what everyone else is seeing.” Video,>click to read<17:35
At Maine Fishermen’s Forum, Sen. Angus King lauds fishing industry – >click to read<
Gear is in wrong place for right whales, scientists say
Speaking at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum on Friday,,, The NOAA Fisheries Large Whale Take Reduction Team recently established separate working groups to study two proposals to reduce the risk of entanglement: splicing several 1,700-pound breaking strength “weak link” sleeves into vertical lines such as those that connect lobster buoys to traps; and removing those ropes altogether by requiring the use “ropeless” fishing gear. Those working groups will focus on whether either solution is technologically feasible, whether it will actually work for fishermen, and whether it can be cost effective for fishermen.,, >click to read<10:32
Dow honored, DMR Excellence Award named for Andy Mays
Two men known well to the Mount Desert Island commercial fishing community were honored at the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum last weekend at the Samoset Resort here. Specialist Sean Dow of the Maine Marine Patrol accepted the Officer of the Year award Saturday. The DMR Excellence Award, now named for its first recipient, the late Andy Mays of Southwest Harbor, went to Machiasport fisherman Mike Murphy. >click to read< 12:15
Lobstermen pack meeting concerning right whales, possible gear changes at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum
Lobstermen from all over the state packed the Rockport Room at the Samoset Resort to overflowing Friday to hear about the potential for ropeless fishing and use of break-away lines to help save the endangered right whale. The panel discussion March 2 at the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum brought fishermen together with several experts including scientist Mark Baumgartner of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Amy Knowlton of the New England Aquarium and Mike Asaro of NOAA Fisheries. >click to read< 10:06
Maine Lobstermen’s Association to replace longtime leader
The largest commercial fishing industry group on the East Coast will elect a new leader this Friday for the first time in 27 yearsa Cutler fisherman, is expected to take the reins of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association at the end of its annual meeting in Rockport. Porter, however, said it is “not a done deal” that he’ll become the group’s next president.,, The MLA was founded in 1954 and, with 1,200 members, bills itself as “the oldest and largest fishing industry association on the East Coast.” It holds its annual meeting each year at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum,,, >click to read< 07:24
43rd Maine Fishermen’s Forum opens on Thursday
The weathermen may be predicting snow for the weekend but Maine fishermen, or at least the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, say that spring is nearly upon us. The 43rd annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum gets under way on Thursday at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. The event features three days of seminars and workshops that bring fishermen from the along the entire New England coast together with: state and federal fisheries scientists, regulators and managers; political incumbents and hopefuls; and maritime enterprises hawking everything from new lobster boats and giant diesel engines to lobster traps, marine electronics, refrigeration systems and foul weather gear. >click to read< 20:40
Lobstermen cheered! LePage removes lobster fee increase from proposed budget
Lobstermen cheered Saturday when Gov. Paul LePage announced at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum that he was pulling an increase in the lobster fishing license fee out of his proposed state budget. The extra money was going to be used to fund new lobster research, new technology for state fisheries researchers and raises for Maine Marine Patrol officers, among other things.,, Under the proposed fee increases, a lobsterman with two deckhands would have paid $114 more a year for his license, bringing the cost of securing a license to more than $1,000 for the first time. Read the story here 16:47
At the Maine Fishermen’s Forum: Lobstermen work with state on new penalties for violations
Enforcement of marine resource laws was the top concern when lobstermen met with state regulators March 3 at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher and Col. Jon Cornish of the Maine Marine Patrol met with the Maine Lobstermen’s Association in a packed meeting room at the Samoset Resort to talk about the state’s efforts to improve enforcement of marine resource laws. “You guys don’t agree on much,” moderator Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association said, earning a laugh from the gathered fishermen. She said the common ground the fishermen had found was their concern about violations. “Lobstermen deserve to work on a level playing field,” she said, but violations make that field unfair, and there was concern the penalties have not been severe enough to deter illegal activity. Work had begun long before the forum with a survey of lobstermen in the association and throughout the fishing industry to see what their top priorities were in terms of enforcement. The results of that survey led to a bill going before the Maine Legislature to improve the state’s lobster laws. continue reading the story here 10:08
The Maine Fishermen’s Forum on tap March 2-4 in Rockport
The 42nd annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum is coming up March 2-4 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. It will feature three days of commercial fishing industry seminars, a trade show, and socializing and networking opportunities. The forum will host fishermen, gear suppliers, scientists, government and other stakeholders to collaborate on all things fishing: markets, resource status, regulations, the latest in technology, the environment and more. Over 120 suppliers of commercial fishing equipment and services exhibit at the forum each year. Continue reading the story here, and visit the Maine Fishermen’s Forum website here 13:10
Ret Talbot – Fishery Data versus Anecdote through the Lens of Sector Management
At this year’s Maine Fishermen’s Forum, many old themes are the topic of current conversations. Fisheries managers and scientists point to data that show a fishery resource squarely on the ropes, while many in the fishing industry maintain that there are more fishes in the water than any time in recent memory. Industry often views the current management system as one that forces fishers into a situation where they are “constantly trying not to catch fish” due to quotas imposed by managers based on science the industry views as suspect. The discrepancy between industry and managers–between anecdote and data–is troubling and continues to foment mistrust, frustration and outright anger. Read the rest here 13:19
‘Questioning our Changing Oceans’ panel discussion at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum
The Maine Fishermen’s Forum will be hosting a fishermen led event focused on fostering a salty discussion around climate change in fisheries. Headlined by Capt. Keith Coburn of the hit show Deadliest Catch and Capt. Buddy Guindon of the new breakout hit Big Fish, Texas, fishermen from around the world have been collected to talk about their experiences on the water and bring to light the issues Maine fishermen need to be thinking about when it comes to a shifting Gulf of Maine ecosystem. The Questioning our Changing Oceans event is sponsored in part by The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, The Environmental Defense Fund, The Island Institute, and The Nature Conservancy. Read the rest here 09:57
Future of shrimp fishery debated at Fishermen’s Forum
Commercial shrimp fishermen who already have gone two years without a harvest shared sharply divided opinions about the future of their fishery Saturday at the 40th annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum. “I think there’s too much regulation going on,” Jim Hanscom of Bar Harbor said. “Pitting fishermen against fishermen is just no good. Limited entry, it’s just cutting people out … I think it’s foolish. Maybe just leave it alone, and let it be.” Read the rest here 20:52
Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative plan will start with upscale restaurants
Collaborative leaders and their advertising agency outlined the new marketing plan Friday at the Maine Fishermen Forum
. The plan starts by focusing on upscale restaurants in the Northeast, and working with well-known chefs to get them to use and talk about live Maine lobster. The prime marketing focus will be to increase demand and price for soft-shell – what the ad agency calls “new shell” — lobsters. Video, Read the rest here 13:33
40 Years of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum
“We had an industry that was nearly unregulated—nobody had experience dealing with regulators. People were being thrust into this world where the government would have a large say in how their lives ran,” said Jim Wilson. Wilson attended a meeting of fishermen in Rhode Island, and when he returned to Maine, he came up with the idea for the Maine Fishermen’s Forum (Click here). “The idea of the forum was to build a community that could start to prepare for this brave new world.” Read the rest here 10:19
A Rundown of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2014
The T-shirts said it all – “Commercial Fisherman: Proudly Feeding America.” “Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Together We Persevere.” “Fish Forever.” There was an aura of feistiness at the 39th Maine Fishermen’s Forum last weekend, as fishermen of all stripes, government officials, environmentalists and business people came together to discuss the current state of fishing in New England. Read more here thefreepress 12:53
“Deadliest Catch” star meets with Maine fishermen – Video
ROCKPORT, Maine(NEWS CENTER) — Maine commercial fishermen had a chance to meet one of their industry celebrities on Thursday and found out he knows a little bit about Maine fishing. Captain Keith Colburn is owner and captain of the fishing vessel “Wizard,” and is one of the stars of the TV show, “The Deadliest Catch.” Read more here 22:34
‘Deadliest Catch’ reality TV star hauls in big audience at Rockport fishing talk – Read more here at BDN 08:46
‘Deadliest Catch’ captain to speak at fishermen’s forum in Rockland
ROCKPORT, Maine — The annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum is known for having a full slate of seminars about new regulations, marketing strategies, management, fishing techniques and other related topics. This year, forum organizers are going the extra mile to bring in some entertainment, too. Read more@BDN 06:37
Maine Fishermen’s Forum starts today in Rockport
38th Annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum The 2013 Forum will be held on February 28, March 1st, & 2nd at the Samoset Resort. Read more here at the Forum Home Page
