“I’m sick of it, Maine is not killing these whales,” announced lobsterman Peter Eaton of Cape Porpoise. His words captured the frustration voiced by many of the state’s lobstermen over the latest iteration of the … Continue reading
Category: ManagementFirst published in Landings, January, 2020 On December 16, NOAA announced the closure of the Nantucket Lightship and Closed Area I Groundfish Closure Areas for gillnet gear to comply with a recent Court Order. All … Continue reading
Category: ManagementA federal task force convened on December 12 to begin planning how and where to develop offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine. The process was set in motion in January of 2019, when … Continue reading
Category: ManagementNOAA plans to stop production of paper nautical charts within five years. The agency will transition to electronic navigational charts (ENC) over the next five years while improving data consistency and providing larger scale coverage. … Continue reading
Category: Management, ProgramsOur map of the ocean is about to get an upgrade. For thousands of years, the ocean was marked by blank spots on the map, and phrases like Hic Sunt Dracones (“here be dragons”). Over … Continue reading
Category: Community Voices, Management, PeopleAs I write this, DMR staff are making final changes to our proposed whale rules that I’ll submit to NOAA Fisheries in early December. These changes are based on comments made by members of the … Continue reading
Category: Management, People, WhalesLobstermen turned out by the hundreds last month to learn about the state’s plan to reduce entanglement risk from the Maine lobster fishery to right whales. In early November, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) … Continue reading
Category: Management, ProgramsIn September the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) initiated a framework action to amend its Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan in order to protect spawning herring offshore in Herring Management Areas 1B, 2 and … Continue reading
Category: Bait, Management, ScienceLobstermen may see a decline in their lobster landings in the near future, according to a study published in the journal Ecological Applications in October. The lead author of the paper, titled “The cresting wave: … Continue reading
Category: Management, ScienceWhen you think about Maine aquaculture, you probably think about salmon, shellfish or seaweed. Interest in these species certainly continues to grow, but that’s not the whole story. Among Maine aquaculturists there are a few … Continue reading
Category: Management, People, Science