AUGUSTA — To maintain bivalve shellfish harvest opportunities in the state of Maine, the sampling and analysis associated with the DMR Bureau of Public Health Shellfish Growing Area Classification Program and DMR Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program remain active. Future schedule adjustments in response to COVID-19 are evolving, but flexible plans have been developed that are designed …
ARLINGTON, Va. — Leaders of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have decided to cancel the group’s Spring Meeting, which was planned for May 4-7. This action is taken in response to the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cancel or postpone gatherings of 50 people or more over the next eight weeks because of the …
ROCKPORT — If a changing climate, whale protection regulations and, now, the as yet immeasurable threat arising from the emergence of the coronavirus aren’t enough to keep fishermen awake at night, the potential development of offshore power generation facilities in the Gulf of Maine should do the trick. Earlier this month, the Maine Fishermen’s Forum opened …
ELLSWORTH — There will be an elver season this year after all. On Thursday, the Department of Marine Resources announced that the 2020 elver fishing season would open at 8 a.m. on Monday, March 30. Originally slated to open last Sunday, March 22, the season was delayed by DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher because of concerns …
BAR HARBOR — In some ways, residents of unbridged island communities are ahead of the curve with the changes brought by the virus epidemic, since they already rely on remote and online connections for important services. But in other ways, they’re especially vulnerable. On March 13, the team of Maine Seacoast Mission staff that usually visits …
AUGUSTA — The Maine CDC recommends limiting contact and exhibiting social distancing due to the coronavirus, so access to all Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) facilities in Augusta, West Boothbay Harbor, Bangor, Lamoine, Jonesboro and Rockland are currently by appointment only. The department strongly urges industry members to submit applications, order tags, upload documents, report landings, etc. via DMR’s online system. …
ROCKPORT — Lobster was the most valuable single seafood species harvested in the country between 2015 and 2018, according to NOAA, with Maine landings accounting for about 80 percent of that value in each of those years. So it’s not surprising that the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) invests a lot in lobster research. State scientists, in collaboration with …
STONINGTON — At a meeting last month, staff of the Eastern Maine Skippers Program and participating teachers at coastal high schools decided the program will have a focus on “Design your Future Fisheries” for the 2020-2021 school year. “Whereas the general approach has been to have broad topics in recent years, the consensus was to …
CUTLER — Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? The Latin phrase translates literally to “Who will guard the guards themselves?” or colloquially “Who watches the watchmen?” That is the question raised by an application for a three-year, four-acre experimental aquaculture lease to raise Atlantic salmon in Cutler Harbor recently filed with the Department of Marine Resources. The applicant? The Department of Marine …
AUGUSTA — A new rule adopted by the Maine Department of Marine Resources adds a maximum size limit for striped bass. Currently, it is unlawful for any person to take or possess striped bass which are less than 28 inches in total length. This rule modifies the existing regulatory requirement by adding a maximum size limit, …
