Never underestimate the value of a leap year. On February 29, 2024, Federal court Judge Lance Walker ruled against the assertion that state law facilitating economic development trumps home rule.
As you may recall, Protect Maine has been working with coastal communities in Maine around ordinances that communities can put in place to safeguard the ocean, relying on their rights under Home Rule. While DMR has repeatedly tried to dissuade communities from executing their authority around home rule this recent ruling indicates towns across Maine do have a say in what they want in their communities. Protect Maine sought a legal opinion at the beginning of this project which speaks directly to the ability of communities to act. Here is the news article with a link to the court decision by Justice Walker.
2024 Maine Fishermen’s Forum – Protect Maine’s Table
The Maine Fishermen’s Forum kicked off to a great start with a ton of traffic at our table.
People were asking questions about why there is no plan for aquaculture – a statement made publicly by the Department of Marine Resources both in Damariscotta and Brunswick. It was the poster below that also caused a lot of conversation and even more questions about the plan for Maine’s coastal future and shared waters. As you may recall, 116 thousand fish died at Cooke’s Black Island farm and a few months later DMR renewed the lease for 20 years. Diving underneath the net pens didn’t occur by the state for more than 2 months and therefore any understanding of environmental impact during that time has been lost.
August 2022 – Black Island die off.
Ironically, Cooke sponsored a dinner at the forum – and you guessed it – farmed salmon was the main course.
The Department of Marine Resources is holding listening sessions around the state regarding aquaculture. Camden Reiss, a marine harvester from Brunswick and consultant to Protect Maine was on the Portland panel. There are three more scheduled in Newcastle, Machias, and Ellsworth. Often, we hear about large scale industrial finfish aquaculture. Equally, as important is large scale bivalve development in Maine. For example, did you know that after a bivalve lease is approved DMR does not track how many bivalves are added to a lease. Why is this important? The impact can be substantial to the oxygen and water quality. Listen to Camden speak about this:
If you want more information about the science you can read more here.
Our Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage hats were a huge success at the forum. We sold out the first day and are getting inquiries about when they will be available again. If you are interested, we are selling this hat at cost for a $25 donation plus shipping. Should you choose to add to your donation, (which we hope you will), it will go to helping us cover costs for educational purposes as we talk to communities around the state about their right to institute ordinances under home rule. If you skipped over the home rule article – here is the link again.
To Order a Hat: email – Protectmaine@gmail.com indicating you want one or more and when they arrive will reach back out to you.