Good Afternoon,
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage (PMFH) wanted to add its voice to those concerned about the coronavirus. We are hoping you are all being careful and taking the necessary precautions to protect yourselves, your families and community. If you haven’t seen the Governor’s request for additional help for the fishing (lobstering) community here is a link to an article in the Portland Press Herald.
As a fisherman, when you apply for a license, you are making a commitment. That license stays with you and stays with your boat. You can’t transfer it to anyone else or any other vessel. You invest your training and your equipment in that fishery, knowing that it is something you are going to be doing for the long-term in order to make it worthwhile. It also means that you are invested in the health of the resources that provide your livelihood. None of this is true for the aquaculture industry as it is currently set up.
Are there any other industries in Maine that are allowed to grow with no set limits? Right now, aquaculture leasing is designed this way. There is no cap on the number of leases that the state can issue. The number of aquaculture applications has increased ten-fold over the last ten years, and the Department of Marine Resources has approved 99% of these marine applications. The current regulations will lead to the unsustainable growth of a new industry which is untested along our coast.
(Brunswick, Maine) – In what is a precedent-setting case for Maine, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) has approved the Mere Point Oyster Company lease despite significant opposition.
DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher confirmed the hearing officer’s earlier decision approving a 34.52 acre lease in Maquoit Bay. The oyster lease will be among the largest in the state. Dozens of lobstermen testified that they fished in the area, some for generations. Pogy fishermen added their opposition to landowner concerns about the site selection and permitting rules for aquaculture in Maine.
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage continues its work to safeguard the ocean bottom, as marine aquaculture applications are approved 99% of the time by the Department of Marine Resources.
The proposed 40-acre oyster lease in Maquoit Bay, Brunswick has been granted a preliminary recommendation for approval, pending final review by the commissioner of the DMR. By November 4th Commercial Fishermen and other intervenors will be submitting comments regarding errors of fact, for review by the commissioner, during this final phase of the lease granting process.
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage (PMFH) continues its work around the state. Upcoming hearings on aquaculture leases include a lease for oysters and quahogs on the Damariscotta River. For a full list of hearings please look at the DMR website.
https://www.maine.gov/dmr/aquaculture/index.html
Lobstermen in Knox County are watching as their fishing grounds are being taken away. I attended a hearing for kelp lease in prime lobstering grounds last week for Bob Baines. The chance of this lease being approved is 99 percent, with the track record the Department of Marine Resources has of approving applications for marine aquaculture. There were about 20 of us there to object, but it really felt like what we asked was falling on deaf ears.