PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — After eyeing a piece of haddock on the supermarket counter, a customer scans a code and finds out the fish was caught in the waters of Georges Bank and learns the name of the fishing boat — and maybe even sees a picture of the smiling, rain-slickened fisherman who reeled it […]
fisheries
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New England fishermen say looming cost of at-sea monitors could put them out of work this year
PORTLAND (AP) — New England fishermen of important food species like cod and haddock say the looming cost of paying for at-sea monitors could put them out of business this year. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service said the money it had been using to pay for the monitors […]
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Casco Bay study links ocean acidity, shellfish decline
PORTLAND — A study released Tuesday finds a link between high levels of ocean water acidity and declining soft-shell clam populations in Casco Bay. The finding adds another piece to the puzzle of shellfish decline in the region, and suggests people can help limit the damage without even going near the water. Landings of soft-shell […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Fishermen, regulators to discuss future of closed Maine shrimp fishery at Portland hearing
PORTLAND (AP) — Fishery regulators are holding a public hearing in Portland to discuss the future of New England’s closed Maine shrimp fishery. The shrimp fishery closed in 2013 and has yet to reopen because of concerns about shrimp population levels. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is collecting feedback from the public about establishing […]
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Portland mayor wants cafeterias to serve more local fish, boost demand for commercial fishing
PORTLAND — Portland Mayor Michael Brennan wants students, hospital patients and jail inmates to eat more fish — particularly, locally caught fish. Entering the final year of his four-year term, Brennan is hoping to convince Greater Portland cafeteria operators to commit to serving local fish, an effort he said would create a stable, constant demand […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine
Cooler water, sustained demand buoy lobster prices
ELLSWORTH — After two years of unusually high catches of lobster off the Maine coast, commercial landings of the iconic crustacean may be falling back a little in 2014. People in the lobster industry say that might not be such a bad thing. Lobsters may have started appearing in traps later this past summer than […]
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Cod fisheries to close
AUGUSTA — With the Atlantic cod population at an all-time low, federal regulators Monday announced the closure of commercial and recreational cod fishing in parts of the Gulf of Maine. The temporary restrictions also include a 200-pound limit on how much a fishing vessel can catch during a single trip, following several years of no […]
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Emergency plan on cod fishing off of New England sought from federal regulators
PORTLAND (AP) — The National Marine Fisheries Service expects to implement emergency measures in November aimed at stemming cod fish decline in the Gulf of Maine. The fisheries service is crafting the measures at the request of the New England Fishery Management Council, which asked for them at its meeting in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Wednesday. […]
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Lobster industry grateful for ‘normal’ summer
ELLSWORTH — If there is anything commercial fishermen in Maine have learned over the past several years, it is that things aren’t the way they used to be. Scallop catches are creeping back up as prices have hit an all-time high. Elver prices have come down a bit but remain historically high after shooting into […]
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Federal postpone decision on new quota recommendations for baby eel fishery
PORTLAND — Federal regulators balked Thursday at a chance to set a new quota for Maine’s lucrative baby eel fishery. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Management Board met in Alexandria, Virginia, to vote on recommendations for the fishery, which has grown in volume and value in recent years, but deadlocked without reaching […]