The Maine Lobstering Union filed an emergency application last week asking the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a lower court ruling and reopen the roughly 950-square-mile area, which is slated to be closed through January – and every subsequent October through January – in an effort to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
ELLSWORTH — A grizzled lobsterman hauls traps onto the wharf as the sun sets slow and pink over the harbor. Fishing boats head home to unload catch as captains and sternmen young and old call back and forth in a Downeast Maine accent. Fresh-caught local seafood is featured at restaurants and markets. Maine’s “blue economy” …
STONINGTON — For the last few months, a handful of Midcoast and Downeast fishermen have been donning fitness trackers on their wrists to find out if wearable technology can safely provide helpful data to support fishermen’s health and well-being. The Brunswick-based Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association has been working on projects to improve the mental health …
ROCKPORT — The annual Fishermen’s Forum, a three-day event held in Rockport in early March, has been canceled for a second year due to coronavirus concerns. The forum brings together scientists, seafood marketers, fisheries management specialists and more from across the commercial fishing industry. The guest list includes marketers, processors, representatives from the Department of …
BAR HARBOR — The latest chapter of Maine’s shrimp fishery is expected to be decided next month. The fishery has been closed for nearly a decade after a collapse of the northern shrimp’s stock in 2013. A moratorium on the fishery has been in place ever since. It is set to expire at the end …
BROOKLIN — Not one but four Duffy 26-foot launches were built at Atlantic Boat Co. this year in a breakout year for the Brooklin-based boatbuilders. Two of the four launches were shipped to Florida on Nov. 17, where they will ferry passengers at a Boca Raton resort, a new customer base for the boatyard. “It …
GOULDSBORO — Community members last week made short work of transferring tens of thousands of young softshell clams from a former lobster pound, where they grew in floating, fine-mesh trays since early last summer, to Gouldsboro’s shellfish resilience laboratory in Bunkers Harbor. Working outside the lab, housed in a former clam-buying station on the harbor’s …
“The price is probably the highest it’s ever been,” said Ron Trundy, the manager of the Stonington Lobster Co-Op.
Fishermen looking for some pain relief from long days hauling traps, banding lobster claws and offloading catch — often in bad weather and always in salt-laden air — are the ultimate customers for Deck Boss.
TRENTON — A group of about 15 gathered Nov. 10 for a Planning Board meeting regarding the construction of a dock consisting of a permanent pier, seasonal ramp and float at Steve and Brenda Shelton’s shorefront home off the Bayside Road. The board unanimously approved the project, which had already been approved by the Maine …
ELLSWORTH — What nuisance flooding is today — a storm surge that temporarily pools water over portions of roads, bridges and other impervious areas — will become critical as sea levels rise from climate change because of global warming. Mitigate, adapt and plan. That was the message Tuesday from a virtual presentation and panel discussion …
SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Cooke Aquaculture’s request to continue operating two salmon farms off Black Island were met with resistance from regional fishermen and activists last week. The company sought to renew the leases for two net pen sites in the town of Frenchboro and had a hearing with the state Department of Marine Resources at …
