Acadia Aqua Farms filed a lease application with the Maine Department of Marine Resources to farm scallops on 68 acres northeast of Sunken Ledge in Frenchman Bay. The company proposes a suspended gear operation for farming scallops 4,000 feet from shore and 2,700 feet northeast of the ledge.
The Maine Department of Resources has released its 2021 elver quotas for license holders and they look the same as those in place for 2020. The quotes also propose a new “tending requirement,” requiring that the contents of fyke nets and Sheldon box traps be removed at least once every 16 hours, with the theory being that if fishermen regularly check their nets and traps, the risk of bycatch and elver mortality will decrease.
Last year elver prices dropped to a 10-year low, $506 average price per pound, down from $2,000 per pound in 2015 and $2,366 in 2018. The price drop was largely related to a drop in demand from Asian buyers, mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to elver fisherman Darrell Young, who founded the Maine Elver Fishermen Association. Demand for the coming 2021 season is difficult to gauge, he said.
A Gulf of Maine offshore wind power initiative Maine Governor Janet Mills rolled out late last year has raised concern in the lobster fishing community, with Maine Lobstermen’s Association Executive Director Patrice McCarron telling The American that “the area identified by the state of Maine for a potential offshore wind farm is prime fishing bottom for Maine fishermen.”
ELLSWORTH — Dylan Whitaker, a fisheries research technician for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW), will present “The Lake Whitefish Project” at Downeast Trout Unlimited’s meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and will be held via Zoom. Advance registration is required. A Maine native who has …
The Army Corps of Engineers has been considering a dredge since 1948, according to Blue Hill Harbormaster Denny Robertson. A project description indicates that the dredge would create an 80-foot-wide channel from deep water to the town landing, excavating roughly 71,500 cubic yards of sediment. Most of the material would be disposed offshore at the Eastern Passage Disposal Site (EPDS), 14 miles from the harbor.
“It’s a dying business,” said Sinuon Chau, who has seen a decline in the volume and quality of uni over the years. Until they were cracked open, he didn’t know how much he would make from the 130 trays purchased that day. “I don’t know if I am going to make a profit.”
CASTINE — On Dec. 18, Maine Maritime Academy received a call from the U.S. Coast Guard requesting assistance for the FV Eastern Star, which was reportedly disabled off of Cape Rosier in Penobscot Bay. MMA employees Captains Dana Willis, Zander Parker and Kelly Gunthorpe answered the call quickly. They prepared MMA’s Addy Rae, a former …
GOULDSBORO — OceansWide is looking to expand its lobster trap recycling program after processing 6,000 pounds of wire traps since last summer at its site at the town’s transfer station. The Newcastle-based nonprofit, which teaches scuba diving and provides other hands-on marine experiences in the Gulf of Maine to Maine youth, is looking to set …
“The window to save this species is closing,” said Erica Fuller, a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, in a statement after the organization joined a petition in December seeking immediate emergency regulatory action. “The federal government must declare this situation what it is — an emergency — and take action to protect these animals now.”
Fisherman and aquaculturist Robert Brewer has applied for a 20-year lease to farm scallops, mussels and sugar kelp on 3.26 acres southwest of Andrews Island off Stonington in Penobscot Bay.
When it comes to actually catching fish, the next piece of gear you will need is a trap. A simple tip-up trap paired with live bait is the most common way to fish in Maine. A tie-up is a device that sits on top of the ice and has a flag that raises when a fish tugs on the line. Another option is a jig rod, which is a small fishing pole, but this method requires active participation.
The deal is expected to substantially boost sales of Maine lobster to European markets. “This is a step in the right direction for U.S. lobster businesses,” said Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association.
