July 6, 2009
Fisheries watch
By Jackie Farwell
Maine’s fish populations have made headlines in recent weeks, thanks to pressure from federal regulators and a new report by a group of lobster experts. Here’s an account of what’s current in Maine’s waters:
- Maine officials are scrambling to boost oversight at the Department of Marine Resources after federal regulators threatened a potentially devastating ban on the sale of Maine shellfish outside the state. The Food and Drug Administration said at least four additional positions are needed at the department to ensure a safe harvest, the Bangor Daily News reported. But Maine budget overseers are angling to just add three positions, since the FDA is not funding the jobs and fees will be needed to cover them, the paper reported. Shellfish is a roughly $50 million industry in Maine, with about 90% of that sold out of state.
- Gov. John Baldacci and the Maine Department of Marine Resources called off this year’s month-long Atlantic salmon fishing season after the National Marine Fisheries Service voiced concerns about Maine’s salmon population, according to the Bangor Daily News. The service is considering listing salmon in the Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers as protected under the Endangered Species Act. This year’s catch-and-release salmon season would have been only the second season in the past 10 years, the paper reported.
- Maine’s lobster population has reached a record high, according to a new report from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The report, released earlier this month, found healthy lobster stocks in Maine, but declining populations in southern New England, according to the Associated Press. It’s welcome news for Maine lobstermen, who last year suffered under declining harvest prices and new rope regulations, Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, told the AP.
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