As we announced last fall in our final rule to implement new measures to protect North Atlantic right whales, the deadline for Northeast lobster and Jonah crab fishermen to make the necessary gear modifications is … Continue reading
Materials for Weak Insert Mandate in Short Supply
On May 1, Maine lobstermen will be required to incorporate weak inserts that break at 1,700 pounds of pressure into all buoy lines and to add additional traps to trawls depending on distance from shore. … Continue reading
Lobster is the Engine of the Southern Maine Economy
How important is the lobster fishery to the Maine coast? What will be the economic impact of a reduction in the harvest due to regulations or a changing Gulf of Maine? We continue our three-part … Continue reading
Surveys Reveal Where North Atlantic Right Whales Are Now
Researchers from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, have identified 187 individual North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the summer. The whales comprise about 40% of … Continue reading
Right Whales Turn Up Off Newfoundland
A Canadian marine mammal scientist says North Atlantic right whales are increasingly being spotted in waters off northern Newfoundland. He says sightings are still relatively rare, but the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) … Continue reading
Guest Column – We cannot win this battle without your support
It’s never easy to ask for help. But the truth is if all of us whose livelihoods depend on Maine’s lobster industry don’t step up in a big way, we are all in deep trouble. … Continue reading
Guest Column: A tough time to predict the future
I came across this quote from Mark Twain the other day: “Predictions are difficult, especially when it involves the future.” Not a day goes by that I don’t hear a question from a fisherman about … Continue reading
Appeals Court Reinstates LMA1 Closure
By MLA Staff On November 16, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a ruling to reinstate the 967-square-mile Lobster Management Area (LMA) 1 closure. The Appeals Court determined that Bangor … Continue reading
Fishing Industry Group To Sue Over Vineyard Wind Approval
By Nathaniel Burola On October 19, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), an organization of fishing industry and companies, filed a 60-day notice of its intent to sue over the decision by the Bureau of … Continue reading
Guest Column: Owning up to our part in plight of right whales
Published in the Portland Press Herald, reprinted with permission It’s time we all own up to the plight of the North Atlantic right whale. Fishing industry advocates, conservationists and editorial boards have all weighed in … Continue reading