#lobster-industry

Governor Janet Mills praises federal court ruling in favor of Maine lobster fishermen
Fri, 06/16/2023 - 6:45pm
Maine’s Governor Janet Mills and the Department of Marine Resources are praising a June 16 federal appeals court decision ordering the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)” to go back to the drawing board and re-work the most recent federal regulation to protect endangered North Atlantic Right Whales.” “Maine’s lobstermen and women have long demonstrated their commitment to maintaining and protecting a sustainable fishery in the Gulf of Maine,” said the Maine Delegation and Governor Mills...
Federal Court of Appeals rules in favor of Maine lobstermen in Right Whale case
Fri, 06/16/2023 - 5:30pm

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association issued a statement June 16 on a ruling in its favor by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on its appeal of a lower court ruling in Maine Lobstermen's Association v. National Marine Fisheries Service. In September 2021, MLA filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s 10-year whale protection plan. Read the court’s decision here MLA had argued that the...
Fishermen must remove all trap/pot gear from Gulf of Maine restricted area, per NOAA
Thu, 11/18/2021 - 2:15pm

On November 16, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit stayed the preliminary injunction issued by the lower court that prevented the roughly 967-square-mile LMA 1 Restricted Area , established by the 2021 amendments to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan , from going into effect, said the Maine Department of Marine Resources, in an advisory to those fishing for lobster and crab offshore. The DMR was extending the notice Nov. 18 on behalf of the National Oceanic...
Maine Legislative Council votes to join lawsuit in support of Maine lobstermen
Sat, 10/09/2021 - 7:00pm
AUGUSTA – On Oct. 7, Maine’s Legislative Council unanimously voted to sign on to a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court in Bangor, seeking emergency relief related to the impending closure of Lobster Management Area 1. Last month, the Maine Legislature overwhelmingly approved a joint order from Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, allowing the 10-member, bipartisan legislative council to take legal action in support of Maine lobstermen impacted by harmful new federal...
Follows Maine Lobstermen’s Association, governor with legal objections
Maine Legislature poised to take legal action to support lobstermen, says Senate president
Wed, 09/29/2021 - 12:45pm

AUGUSTA – Today, Sept. 29, the Maine Legislature overwhelmingly approved a joint order from Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, that would allow the Legislative Council to take legal action in support of Maine lobstermen impacted by the harmful new federal regulations, according to a news release from Sen. Jackson’s office. The Legislative Council is a bipartisan committee that includes members of House and Senate leadership and is responsible for the overall management of the entire...
Gov. Mills gets intervenor status in another lobster case
Maine Lobstermen’s Assoc. files suit against feds over Right Whale conservation plan
Mon, 09/27/2021 - 6:00pm

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the oldest and largest fishing industry association on the East Coast established in 1954, has filed suit against the National Marine Fisheries Service, saying the newly enacted federal plan to protect Right Whales in the Gulf of Maine is draconian and flawed, and will demolish Maine’s lobster fishery. The MLA asserts that NMFS’s new Biological Opinion, released in May, is unlawful because NMFS acted arbitrarily by, among...
Get your lobster fix at a reduced price Sept 19 through 25
Maine Lobster Week adapts to the Maine Restaurant Week model
Thu, 09/16/2021 - 8:00pm

Lobster rolls, lobster risotto, lobster mac and cheese—this coming week is a lobster lover’s paradise. With National Lobster Day falling on September 25, Maine’s most celebrated crustacean is on the menu from September 19 – 25 all over the state for Maine Lobster Week. “We partnered with the organizers of Maine Restaurant Week to create Maine Lobster Week in order to help drive traffic to local restaurants and online lobster shippers as the peak summer season winds down,” said...
Will Harm Maine’s Lobster Industry, all agree
Maine’s Congressional Delegation, Governor united in opposition to federal government’s new lobster rules
Tue, 08/31/2021 - 7:00pm

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, and Governor Janet Mills issued the following press release/joint statement following the release of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule: The new rules were published today, Aug. 31, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Dept. of Commerce issued the new rules in the federal...
Lobstermen say the rules are expensive, dangerous and based on outdated data
Proposed federal rules to help endangered whales could cost Maine’s lobster industry $10 million
Sun, 03/14/2021 - 9:15am

Federal fishing regulators are close to finalizing new rules that would require expensive gear modifications and seasonal fishing closures in Northeast waters to protect the endangered right whale. Maine regulators and fishermen fear the rules would jeopardize Maine’s billion-dollar lobster industry while environmental advocates argue they don’t go far enough. The public comment period closed March 1 after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hosted virtual public hearings...
European Union trade victory for Maine lobster clears final hurdle
Wed, 12/23/2020 - 6:30pm

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, in a news release, welcomed the finalization of the agreement to eliminate tariffs on live and frozen American lobster, which will help to substantially boost sales of Maine lobster to European markets. The deal was solidified following President Trump signing a proclamation. Senator Collins strongly advocated for this agreement and raised the concerns of Maine’s lobster industry directly to the White House and U.S. Trade Representative Robert...
‘MLA will correct errors in allegations that right whales are harmed by entanglement in U.S. gear’
Maine Lobstermen’s Association gears up for legal battle in federal court
Tue, 05/12/2020 - 12:00pm

Thousands of Maine’s family-owned lobstering businesses are at risk of extinction due to a recent federal court ruling citing a violation of the Endangered Species Act by the National Marine Fisheries Service, according to the nonprofit Maine Lobstermen’s Association/Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance. “The world’s most sustainable fishery could be shut down,” the association said in a May 6 news release. “And that is something that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association cannot let happen.” That...
Spend the last of winter, early spring painting lines in purple segments
Maine lobstermen spray-paint trap lines for whale entanglement study
Fri, 04/17/2020 - 12:45pm

PENOBSCOT BAY — Purple spray paint has been a hot commodity along the coast of Maine this past late winter and early spring, as lobstermen buy out their local stores for a specific task: painting sections of their lobster trap lines to mark them as being solely from Maine. This chore — and it is a laborious one — involves staking out the lines, feeding them over sawhorses or other temporary stands — and spraying them in three-foot sections with a distinctive dark purple hue. Stores up and down...