Tag Archives: Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation
US Coastal Communities Fight for Space for Small-scale Fishermen
U.S. coastal waters are a public good increasingly at risk of privatization, threatening local economies that have depended on the sea for generations, fishermen and environmental advocates warned. Critics point to efforts to open up waters to industrial-scale fish farms, (offshore wind farms), a federal permit system they say is stacked against small or new operators, and even coastal real estate development squeezing out independent businesses. “There is another real estate grab, but it’s in the ocean,” said Jason Jarvis, a commercial fisherman in Rhode Island who has been fishing for three decades and also sits on the board of the North American Marine Alliance (NAMA), a national network that seeks to boost fishing communities. “This is a gold rush,” said Crystal Canney, executive director of Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation, which has worked on model legislation to help towns push back. The efforts are prompting inquiries from concerned communities in other coastal states, she said. “The questions are really, do we have any rights?” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:30
Maine Gubernatorial Candidates Publicly Oppose American Aquafarms Project
Earlier this month, Governor and gubernatorial candidate Janet Mills and former Governor and gubernatorial candidate Paul Lepage both indicated they do not support the American Aquafarms project which would have put 120 acres of net pen salmon at the foot of Acadia National Park. Republican candidate Paul LePage took to his Facebook page stating, “…I will oppose any future application from American Aquafarms in that location. The working ecosystem in Frenchman Bay is much too critical to place at risk for this proposed venture.” 2 press releases, >click to read< 15:16
Anti-salmon farming activist Alexandra Morton to give special presentation for Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
Alexandra Morton has been called “the Jane Goodall of Canada” because of her passionate thirty-year fight to save British Columbia’s wild salmon from salmon farms. Her account of that fight is both inspiring and a roadmap for resistance to industrial-scale aquaculture. Morton has agreed to give a special lecture virtually from her home in British Columbia on December 06, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. (EST) as part of the MDIBL Science Café series. This event is free and open to the public, but attendees must register in advance. A question-and-answer session will follow. “This important conversation comes at a critical time for Frenchman Bay and Maine as we face the rising challenge of industrial-scale aquaculture,”,,,, >click to read<, and register! 10:55
Can American lobstermen survive new restrictions, ESA listing of the North Atlantic Right Whale?
For centuries, North Atlantic right whales were aggressively hunted for their meat and their oil, which was used to keep lamps lit and to make soap.,, Since 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has documented 34 dead whales (21 in Canada; 13 in the U.S.), and 16 whales with serious injuries from entanglements or vessel strikes. In an attempt to conserve and rebuild the population, NOAA announced new regulations in August 2021 on the Maine lobster and Jonah crab industries, including the closure of large parts of the Gulf of Maine to lobstering between October and January and requiring more traps per trawl to reduce the overall number of lines in the water. >click to read< By A.N. Smith 13:15
Maine: Two More Towns Join Fight Against Industrial Salmon Farm Near Acadia
“Momentum continues to build against this inappropriate and destructive project, and we expect more towns and local groups to join the opposition in the weeks ahead,” said Kathleen Rybarz, president of Friends of Frenchman Bay and member of Frenchman Bay United, a coalition of organizations and individuals that is leading the fight against salmon farm. “People in the communities around Frenchman Bay and Acadia National Park understand clearly that this project threatens local jobs in fishing and tourism as well as the natural environment and their quality of life.” “This is no place for 30 massive salmon pens, using unproven technology and pumping 4.1 billion gallons of effluent into the bay each day,,, >click to read< 13:48
151 Maine legislators call on Biden to rescind new lobster fishing reg’s, while the real threat remains
State legislators have submitted a letter to President Joe Biden requesting (DEMAND!) that his administration take steps to immediately rescind new regulations on lobster fishing. The new regulations, which are intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale,,, Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, a lobster fisherman, initiated the letter. Maine Senate President Troy Jackson also criticized the new reg’s,, “The new 
federal regulations are an affront to the men and women who have made a living on Maine’s working waterfront for generations,,, I’m deeply disappointed that NOAA has decided to dismiss the voices of Maine’s lobstering workforce and chosen to go ahead with damaging regulations that do nothing more than hurt our fishermen, while the real threat to right whales remains, Canadian ships.” Video, >click to read< 16:03
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation: A Statement on Today’s NOAA Right Whale Decision
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation calls on state and federal authorities to do all they can to change the decision handed down by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan today. “This is incredulous. Maine lobstermen and women are not killing right whales. Why would you penalize an iconic Maine industry for the sake of being able to say you are saving right whales? It’s like cutting off an arm when it’s the foot that is the problem and pretending you have fixed the problem. This industry is under fire from every direction – right whales and large industrial aquaculture. The whale deaths are not in Maine nor at the hands of Maine lobstermen.” >click to read< 13:15
Protest Photo’s: More than 125 boats in “Save the Bay” flotilla today
More than 125 boats participated in a “Save the Bay” flotilla today to protest plans by American Aquafarms to place a massive industrial salmon farm in Frenchman Bay, just off Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. The boat parade included many working lobster boats and a variety of pleasure craft. Organizers called the size of the boat parade unprecedented and said it demonstrates the depth of opposition to the salmon farm from people all around the bay. >click to see the photos< 17:50
Move Over! Industrial aquaculture/aquafarming has Maine lobstermen and fishermen hot under the collar
High-profile privately funded ventures have lately been converging on this corner of the North Atlantic. Norwegian owned American Aquafarms wants to salmon in Frenchman Bay, and other large Canadian and Dutch finfish aquaculture companies are moving into the region. This bustle, though, has raised the hackles of lobstermen and women represented by grassroots Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation organization. They say large-scale aquaculture corporations are intent on “privatizing” the public ocean, in the process displacing locals who’ve fished these waters for years and endangering their livelihoods. They feel considerably less optimistic about the burst of interest in aquafarming in their local waters,,,>click to read< 09:07
Maine: Residents rise up against industrial scale aquaculture
American Aquafarms intends to “establish a hatchery, fish farm facilities, and a state-of-the-art processing plant in coastal Maine,” according to its website. “There are so many things wrong with this project,” said Sarah Redmond, a local oyster farmer. “Nobody around here thinks this is a good idea.” The fight over the farms is emblematic of the national debate over how to expand aquaculture in the United States. “I see a storm on the horizon for lobstermen and the future of this industry,” wrote Maine State Rep. Robert Alley in a recent op-ed,,, >click to read< 09:24
Frenchman Bay United has sent a letter to Interior Secretary Haaland around the proposed project in Frenchman Bay – Opponents of industrial salmon farm near Acadia National Park urge Interior Secretary Haaland to oppose project following her recent visit to Maine, >click to read<,To the The Honorable Deb Haaland, Secretary Department of the Interior >click to read<
Proposed salmon farm highlights competing visions – Groups Oppose Industrial Aquaculture in Frenchman Bay
American Aquafarms wants to put 30 salmon pens in Frenchman Bay at the foot of Acadia National Park While the company said the proposed aquafarm will be good for Maine, people who currently make their living on the water aren’t convinced, and oppose the project. “These are the wrong people with the wrong project and the wrong technology in absolutely the wrong place,” >video, click to read< – Groups Oppose Applications for Industrial Aquaculture Leases at the foot of Acadia National Park in Frenchman Bay – The pens in Frenchman Bay would grow 66 million pounds of farmed raised salmon and compete with lobstermen who have also expressed their concerns. Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation Executive Director Crystal Canney said, “There are many things wrong with this project, especially as it relates to the deleterious effects it may have on the environment. On a statewide level, these conflicts continue to grow. PMFHF has heard from more than 30 lobstermen who fish in Frenchman Bay. They are concerned about the loss of bottom but also concerned that the rules and regulations at the Department of Marine Resources are risking the livelihood of a $1.6 billion industry.” >click to read< 14:53
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation supports LD 101 to pause offshore wind development in state waters
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation (PMFHF) is supporting LD 101 which would pause all wind energy projects in state waters. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham R- Winter Harbor.,,, Right now, lobstermen and women face a three headed sea monster (Right Whales, Aquaculture, Offshore Wind) and the outcomes could be ugly. As a result, the inshore fishery is about to get even more crowded. Lobstermen and women have been talking about leaving the offshore fishery which is beyond the three-mile line and coming inshore because of the changes around right whale regulations. >click to read< 11:45
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation is working to limit Maine’s aquaculture lease process.
With aquaculture growing, one organization is concerned about continued conflict on the coastline. Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation was established two years ago. Executive Director of the non-profit, Cyrstal Canney said her group is fighting to reduce the size and amount of aquaculture leases. Canney did add her organization is not against aquaculture but wants to protect traditional fishing grounds. >click to read< 08:48
