Lobster catch dips to lowest level since 2009 as fishers grapple with climate change, whale rules
10 months, 1 week ago

Lobster catch dips to lowest level since 2009 as fishers grapple with climate change, whale rules

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — America’s lobster fishing business dipped in catch while grappling with challenges including a changing ocean environment and new rules designed to protect rare whales. Maine fishermen’s catch in 2023 fell more than 5% from the year that preceded it, and the total of 93.7 million pounds of lobsters caught was the lowest figure since 2009, according to data released Friday by the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The figure tracks with the up-and-down year lobster fishermen experienced, said Dave Cousens a fishermen based out of Criehaven island and a former president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “There’s no question climate change is affecting it.” Fishermen from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other Northeast states also harvest lobsters with traps from the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, but about 80% of the catch comes to the docks in Maine in a typical year.

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History of this topic

Small winter catch set for New England’s long-closed shrimp industry, a climate casualty
3 weeks, 2 days ago

Small winter catch set for New England’s long-closed shrimp industry, a climate casualty

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — New England shrimp, long lost from the marketplace as waters have warmed, will come back to seafood counters in small amounts next year due to a research fishing program. But the program will provide important data to better understand the status of the shrimp population while also allowing a small amount of catch, the commission said. Maine, …

Plan for stricter lobster fishing rules delayed as species shows decline in babies
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Plan for stricter lobster fishing rules delayed as species shows decline in babies

The Independent  

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Maine fishermen caught more fish in 2023, thanks to a hunger relief program and COVID funds
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Maine fishermen caught more fish in 2023, thanks to a hunger relief program and COVID funds

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine fishermen bucked yearslong, industrywide trends last year and caught more fish, a development regulators and industry members said shows the impact of COVID-19 relief funds. Federal money also supported the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program, which buys fish to support food banks and schools. “It’s important work and a positive story; fishermen were able to keep working, …

Maine Lobster Gear Linked To Endangered Whale Death
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Maine Lobster Gear Linked To Endangered Whale Death

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING For the first time, federal regulators have connected Maine’s signature lobster industry to the entanglement and death of a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The animal, a 3-year-old female calf, was found washed ashore in late January on Martha’s Vineyard, off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with rope wrapped around and embedded in its tail — the result …

Lawsuit over California group’s do-not-eat listing for American lobster dismissed
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Lawsuit over California group’s do-not-eat listing for American lobster dismissed

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A California court has dismissed a lawsuit from a group of fishermen against a conservation group that added New England lobster to its list of seafood to avoid. The organization, based at Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, said lobster fishing poses risk to the North Atlantic right whale because of entanglement in fishing gear. The fishermen, based …

Young lobsters show decline off New England, and fishermen will see new rules as a result
1 year, 2 months ago

Young lobsters show decline off New England, and fishermen will see new rules as a result

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — The population of young lobsters has declined nearly 40% in some of the most critical fishing waters off New England, officials said Wednesday, triggering new restrictions for the fishermen who harvest the valuable crustaceans. Officials with the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said surveys have detected a 39% decline in young lobsters in the Gulf of …

Federal court sides with lobster fishers in whale protection case anchored off New England
1 year, 6 months ago

Federal court sides with lobster fishers in whale protection case anchored off New England

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal appeals court has sided with commercial fishermen who say proposed restrictions aimed at saving a vanishing species of whale could put them out of business. The appeals court ruling could mean that the federal government must take another stab at crafting new rules to protect the whales. The changes would represent a potential worst-case scenario …

Do-not-eat listing draws lawsuit from Maine lobster industry
1 year, 9 months ago

Do-not-eat listing draws lawsuit from Maine lobster industry

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A coalition representing the Maine lobster industry is suing an aquarium on the other side of the country for recommending that seafood customers avoid buying a variety of lobster mostly harvested in their state. Industry groups including Maine Lobstermen’s Association are suing the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California for defamation, arguing in a lawsuit filed Monday that …

Maine lobstermen have slower year amid industry challenges
1 year, 10 months ago

Maine lobstermen have slower year amid industry challenges

Associated Press  

ROCKPORT, Maine — Fishers of Maine lobster, one of the most lucrative seafood species in the U.S., had a smaller haul during a year in which the industry battled surging fuel and bait prices, rebukes from key retailers and the looming possibility of new fishing restrictions. The industry has experienced growth in recent years, as fishermen have caught more than …

Lawmakers using spending bill to delay lobster restrictions
2 years ago

Lawmakers using spending bill to delay lobster restrictions

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s congressional delegation is using the $1.7 trillion federal spending bill to try to delay for six years new protections for endangered whales to protect Maine’s lobster industry. Maine’s congressional delegation and Democratic governor presented a united front, saying the new rules would “not meaningfully protect” right whales while threatening the state’s signature fishery — and thousands …

Whole Foods decision to pull lobster divides enviros, pols
2 years, 1 month ago

Whole Foods decision to pull lobster divides enviros, pols

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Environmental groups are once again at odds with politicians and fishermen in New England in the wake of a decision by high-end retail giant Whole Foods to stop selling Maine lobster. The decision by Whole Foods was an “important action to protect the highly endangered” whale, said Virginia Carter, an associate with the Save America’s Wildlife Campaign …

Sustainability group pulls lobster certification over whales
2 years, 1 month ago

Sustainability group pulls lobster certification over whales

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — An international nonprofit organization that sets sustainability standards for commercial fishing management has suspended a certification it awarded Maine’s lobster industry over concerns about harm to whales. The organization said in a statement that the danger North Atlantic right whales face from entanglement in fishing gear is a “serious and tragic situation” of “grave concern to all …

Fishermen hire Bush-era official in challenge to whale laws
2 years, 2 months ago

Fishermen hire Bush-era official in challenge to whale laws

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine lobster fishermen have hired a former high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice official to represent them in their case against new laws intended to protect whales. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is appealing its case against the new rules to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association also filed court …

Steamed about lobster: House candidates snippy over donation
2 years, 3 months ago

Steamed about lobster: House candidates snippy over donation

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Congressional candidates in a hotly contested Maine race snipped at each other on Tuesday about a contribution from the leader of a conservation group that has discouraged consumers from buying lobster. Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is defending his seat in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District against Republican former Rep. Bruce Poliquin and independent candidate Tiffany Bond. Seafood Watch, …

Fishermen appeal judge ruling that protects endangered whale
2 years, 3 months ago

Fishermen appeal judge ruling that protects endangered whale

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — The state of Maine and a fishing group are appealing a federal judge’s decision that new rules intended to protect endangered whales must stand. The fishing group is “escalating its fight to save Maine’s lobstering heritage from a plan that the agency itself admits is not needed for the species to survive,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director …

Haul of Atlantic cod, once abundant, reaches new low
2 years, 8 months ago

Haul of Atlantic cod, once abundant, reaches new low

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — One of the oldest fishing industries in the U.S. sank to a new low in catch last year, signaling that efforts to rebuild the fishery still have a long way to go. New England fishermen have caught Atlantic cod for centuries, but catch has dwindled over the last decade due to overfishing, restrictive fishing quotas and environmental …

New England shrimp industry should not restart, experts say
3 years, 1 month ago

New England shrimp industry should not restart, experts say

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — A group of experts is recommending to keep New England’s shrimp fishing industry closed down because of concerns about the health of the population. A board of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is slated to vote Dec. 17 on whether to reopen fishing. The report from the technical committee said that it makes sense to …

Maine relies on its marine life, but climate change will alter what that means
3 years, 2 months ago

Maine relies on its marine life, but climate change will alter what that means

The Economist  

Listen to this story. “It’s a culture.” Warming waters have done more than change lobstermen’s schedules—they have disrupted entire ecosystems, the Gulf of Maine among them. Maine’s overall commercial landings brought in more than $500m last year, but maintaining those profits will require flexibility—at the least, it means acknowledging the gulf may look vastly different in years to come. “But …

Lobster fishing will face restrictions to try to save whales
3 years, 4 months ago

Lobster fishing will face restrictions to try to save whales

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — America’s lobster fishing industry will face a host of new harvesting restrictions amid a new push from the federal government to try to save a vanishing species of whale. “The new measures in this rule will allow the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries to continue to thrive, while significantly reducing the risk to critically endangered right whales …

US lobster fisheries anxious over upcoming whale protections
3 years, 6 months ago

US lobster fisheries anxious over upcoming whale protections

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — The profitable U.S. lobster fishery will soon have to contend with new rules designed to protect an endangered species of whale, and that could necessitate major changes for people in the industry. Acting NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Paul Doremus said in June that the U.S. and Canada, which also harvests lobsters, must “take and sustain additional efforts …

Lobster lovers feeling the pinch as summer nears
3 years, 7 months ago

Lobster lovers feeling the pinch as summer nears

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — Summer weather has arrived, and New England tourists are hungry for a lobster roll or a whole cooked lobster — but they’re going to have to pay up. The wholesale price for live, 1.25-pound lobsters in the New England market was $9.01 per pound on May 1, business publisher Urner Barry reported. New England’s busiest lobster fishing …

Climate 'Shocks' Eliminated 16% Of New England Fishing Jobs, Study Finds
5 years, 1 month ago

Climate 'Shocks' Eliminated 16% Of New England Fishing Jobs, Study Finds

Huff Post  

Warming waters in the Gulf of Maine are straining New England's historic fishing industry. Brian Snyder / Reuters New England’s historic fishing industry has been in crisis mode for years as the region’s waters warm at a faster rate than most of the world, efforts by regulators to preserve dwindling fish stocks bankrupt boat captains, and a general malaise settles …

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