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May 2021 | Vol. 29, No. 5 MAINE FISHERMEN UNITE IN RALLY AGAINST OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES By MLA staff Governor Mills attempted to preempt the rally by introducing a bill earlier in the day proposing a ten-year moratorium on off shore wind in state waters. Th e A crowd of nearly 500 lobstermen, fi shing families, business people, and other bill, however, would allow the Monhegan wind project to move forward and supporters gathered outside the Augusta Civic Center on April 28 to oppose would not restrict cables or transmission lines that support off shore wind gen- the industrialization of the Gulf of Maine with mas- eration. Maine’s fi shing industry said this doesn’t go sive off shore wind turbines. Th e rally was organized nearly far enough. Th ey stated thatthe same cau- by the Maine Lobstering Union (MLU), with support tion must be given to off shore development outside from Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA) of state waters. “Maine fi shermen plan to leave a and in partnership with the Maine Lobstermen’s healthy fi shery and ocean for many generations Association (MLA) and Downeast Lobstermen’s down the road, not just a mere 10 years,” comment- Association (DELA). “It’s such a rarity to see all of our ed Jason Joyce, an 8th generation lobsterman from organizations come together. Everyone is pushing Swans Island. this fi ght together,” rally organizer Ginny Olson of the MLU told the crowd. Th e state of Maine received a $2 million federal grant last October to conduct a comprehensive Protesters expressed fear that Maine’s rush to be off shore wind planning process, called Maine’s the fi rst to deploy fl oating off shore wind technology Off shore Wind Roadmap, intended to “focus on could harm the Gulf of Maine’s fragile ocean ecosys- planning and data-gathering to support siting deci- tem, trade Maine’s family-owned and operated fi sh- Whether young or old, the message in sions, with the goal of minimizing potential eff ects ing businesses for jobs with foreign energy compa- Augusta was clear: no wind farms in the on the environment and fi sheries.” Rather than con- nies, and risk eroding Maine’s fi shing heritage, which Gulf of Maine. Pictured, Pierce Achorn of duct this planning process, the Mills administration has sustained the state’s rural coastal communities Friendship. MLA photo. instead is championing immediate development for generations. “Th e Gulf of Maine is the last place to of two off shore fl oating wind projects, both to be conduct a grand experiment to learn if massive fl oat- developed by New England Aqua Ventus (NEAV). ing wind turbines will work and how much they will damage the environment,” NEAV is a joint venture between two large international energy companies, said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the MLA. Continued on page 24 Maine Fishermen’s Cooperatives Maine Co-ops Working for Maine Fishermen. Proud sponsors of Landings. LOBSTERMEN FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE Page 2 TOGETHER COASTAL OUTLOOK Th oughts from the MLCA president Page 3 U.S. Postage Paid Postage U.S. Portland, ME 04101 PRST STD 454 No. Permit GUEST COLUMN: Cutting access to healthy fi sheries Page 4 MORE LETTERS FROM LOBSTERMEN Pages 7-11 MLA UPDATE Pages 17-18 #SAVE MAINELOBSTERMEN Photo by Sherry Tucker. By Melissa Waterman Page 21 GUEST COLUMN: Jeff You hear it often among fi shermen on Maine’s commercial wharves: Putname, Zone Council F “Livin’ the life.” It’s the all-encompassing laconic answer to every- thing from “How are you?” to “How’d you do yesterday?” Page 23 MLMC DEFENDS Right now Maine lobstermen are living lives jam-packed with anxi- LOBSTER INDUSTRY ety. Th e aggressive push by Governor Janet Mills to develop federal waters off southern Maine for a large wind turbine farm; the accel- Page 26 erated schedule for construction of a 12-MW fl oating wind turbine IN THE NEWS three miles southeast of Monhegan Island; and implementation Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance Community Lobstermen’s Maine 315 Box P.O. ME 04043 Kennebunk, later this month of NOAA’s new regulations regarding right whales, Continued on page 5 Page 2 | LANDINGS | May 2021 President’s COASTAL OUTLOOK Th oughts from MLCA President Patrice McCarron NOTES Board of Directors Kristan Porter, Chair Jim Dow, Vice Chairman Elliott Th omas, Treasurer Stephen Brooks William Brennan Amy Lent Staff President: Patrice McCarron Landings Editor: Melissa Waterman Programs and Development: Antonina Pelletier MLA photo Landings is published monthly. Th ere’s just no rest for the weary. Lobstermen spent the as tourism, shoreland development and other pressures It is provided for free to all winter responding to a barrage of proposed federal regula- have arisen. Today the twin threats of debilitating regula- Maine lobstermen thanks to the tions designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic tions that may do little to protect right whales and rush support of newspaper spon- right whale that may cripple the state’s lobster fi shery in to turn the Gulf of Maine into an energy-producing “wild sors. Th is month’s edition is the next ten years. Th ose regulations are due to be fi nal- west” threaten to push New England fi shermen off the wa- sponsored by the South Bristol, ized by May 31. At the same time, Governor Janet Mills’ ad- ter. “And why is it that someone is always telling fi shermen Stonington, Swans Island and ministration is aggressively pushing an application to the that they should be licking their lips at prospects for wa- Winter Harbor Cooperatives. Bureau of Off shore Energy Management for a lease in fed- terfront jobs in the post-fi shing economy?” Fraser asks. eral waters off southern Maine to construct large wind tur- On a diff erent subject, Island Institute scientist Susie bine array. Th e 16-square-mile area is used by lobstermen, Arnold shares her thoughts on the Institute’s long-running groundfi shermen, recreational charter boats, and others. Get noticed in Fishermen’s Climate Roundtable, held with Maine fi sher- Facing pressures from all sides, lobstermen fi nally stood men each year for the past 15 years. Th e gathering is an up to be counted. At a rally held in Augusta on April 28, informal opportunity for fi shermen to share what they are LANDINGS! they gathered outside of the Augusta Civic Center to make seeing on the water with scientists and each other. Th e clear to Governor Mills and to the state at large that the topics vary by year — ocean acidifi cation, lobster settle- 2021 Advertising Rates Maine lobster industry was not to be sacrifi ced in pursuit ment, invasive species — but always circle around the fact of the dream of “green” energy. that the Gulf of Maine is getting warmer, quickly. Th is year Full page (10 x 14.65 inches) $945 Jeff Putnam, chair of the Zone F lobster zone council, spoke the topic was the new lobster stock assessment, released Half page (10 x 7.35 inches) $500 eloquently about the menace posed by off shore wind de- last year, which was the fi rst to include climate variables. velopment at the council’s meeting in April and he allowed Arnold writes, “Lobstermen have been talking about cli- Quarter page (4.9 x 7.35 inches) $280 us to publish his comments in this month’s issue. Putnam mate impacts on their fi shery for 15 years at the round- tables, and the science has fi nally caught up and included Eighth page (4.9 x 3.5 inches) $165 cautioned lobstermen from other zones that just because they don’t fi sh in the targeted 16-square-mile area, they how changes in environmental parameters are impacting lobster populations.” Business Card (3.5 x 2 inches) $55 could well be aff ected by those lobstermen who are forced to move to other grounds. He questioned the sincerity of Identifying environmental changes is part of purpose of the Color ads are an additional $75. Discount for outreach from the Governor’s offi ce with fi shermen about Department of Marine Resources’ (DMR) suite of lobster multi-month commitment. the proposed lease. “It doesn’t matter that we may voice surveys, conducted each year. Th e outbreak of COVID-19 Th e advertising deadline is the our displeasure with this project, all we will get is a simple last spring curtailed some of the agency’s programs, how- second Monday of each month. ‘Th anks for your thoughts’ or ‘Your opinion matters to us.’” ever, most were only slightly aff ected. DMR lead lobster bi- Please contact Lobstermen and others provided written comments to ologist Kathleen Reardon and other DMR staff presented Melissa Waterman NOAA on the proposed regulations to protect right whales the results of DMR’s research online in early April. Landings ([email protected] that will govern their fi shery for years to come, some of off ers an overview of their data. or 967-6221) for more information. which we printed last month. We reproduce more of their Finally, we hear from Jon Johansen, publisher of Maine letters to illustrate the depth of concern experienced by Coast News and member of the Maine Lobster Boat Racing fi shermen and their families. Association, about the return of the lobster boat races this Th e Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative helped clarify year. COVID-19 precautions caused many of the races to be the confusion about right whales and the lobster fi shery cancelled last year, a deep disappointment to racing fans in 2020.