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Updated: April 8, 2025

A trust banks groundfish and scallop quotas for Maine fishermen

A person hauls a net full of fish. Photo / Courtesy Scott Gable Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and the Maine chapter of the Nature Conservancy said the Fisheries Trust of Maine will ensure there are permits and quotas available for Maine fishermen to lease.
By Laurie Schreiber

Two nonprofits have partnered to bank groundfish and scallop permits on behalf of Maine fishermen, with the idea of ensuring that current and future fishermen will be able to retain access to those fisheries.

The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association in Brunswick and the Maine chapter of the Nature Conservancy said the Fisheries Trust of Maine is designed to ensure that there are permits and quotas available for fishermen to lease.

“Without the access that these permits provide, I don’t think we’d be able to go out groundfishing,” said Vincent Balzano, a fisherman from Portland. “This is a lifeline to the next generation and it’s critical for our survival.”

To support the launch of the trust, the Nature Conservancy transferred three permits with over 500,000 pounds of associated groundfish quota to the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association for long-term ownership and stewardship.

A person pulls a net from the water.
Photo / Courtesy Scott Gable
To support the launch of the trust, the Nature Conservancy transferred three permits with over 500,000 pounds of associated groundfish quota to the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association for long-term ownership and stewardship.

The association contributed the purchase of a scallop permit through its recently established Go Fish Fund. The program is hosted by the association.

The program addresses challenges fishermen in “cap and trade” fisheries, where they are annually allocated pounds of fish they are allowed to catch, according to a news release. Fishermen often need to lease additional quota, which can be a significant barrier to entry due to expenses or availability.

“Groundfish” refers to multiple species such as cod, halibut and haddock.

Keep permits in Maine

Banking the federal groundfish permits will anchor them in Maine, the release said.

The establishment of the trust builds on work to preserve fishery access that the conservancy began in 2010 in partnership with Maine fishermen. Fewer vessels were landing in Maine, permits were being sold out of state and the conservancy said it recognized the critical need to anchor permits locally to preserve future access for the next generation of Maine fishermen. 

The conservancy began buying permits from willing sellers and leasing quota at discounted rates to fishermen partnering with them on collaborative research projects focused on developing more selective and sustainable fishing practices.

The conservancy’s plan was to eventually transfer ownership of those permits to a mission-aligned nonprofit organization. Based on its 15-year relationship with the MCFA, it made a natural choice for long-term ownership and management of the permits. 

“This is an essential long-term strategy for MCFA,” said Ben Martens, MCFA’s executive director. “Investing in these permits represents an investment in access forever. For all the work we do to build better fisheries on the water, to build better markets here on shore, if fishermen don’t have the access, that work may not have a lasting impact.”

Martens noted that younger generations of fishermen are looking for opportunities in the Gulf of Maine. 

“That’s what this work has really allowed us to do with our fleet: think not just about the next year, but the next five years, the next ten years, what we are going to be doing together to make it better,” he said.

MCFA said it will continue to work with the conservancy and with local fishermen to grow the trust and to provide opportunities for fishing families to adapt and diversify their business plans, participate in research and innovation and stay resilient in the face of changing oceans and regulations.

To learn more about the trust, click here.

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