Maine Fishermen’s Forum will focus on offshore wind, endangered whales
File Photo / Laurie Schreiber
The annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport attracts hundreds of attendees interested in learning the latest on fishery topics.
The 45th annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum kicks off Thursday with a schedule of more than 30 seminars on topics that impact fishermen in Maine and beyond.
The free, three-day event takes place March 5-7 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Additional activities include a trade show, benefit auction, children’s programs, seafood reception, evening dinners and entertainment.
The forum is the largest event of its kind in New England, dedicated to offering fishermen, clammers, lobstermen, aquaculturalists and other related seafood industry participants an opportunity to meet on neutral ground with fisheries managers and state and federal legislators.
Maine’s lobster fishery is expected to a major topic, with six meetings and seminars devoted to it. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association will hold its annual meeting, with a discussion about challenges such as new regulations and an ongoing court case related to preservation of the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Separate sessions will discuss new lobster gear marking requirements designed to identify Maine-specific gear; monitoring projects designed to understand climate change impacts on the fishery; and lobster handling practices designed to increase profit margins. The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative will share updates on its promotion initiatives in 2019 and plans for this year, including advertising, social media and partnerships.
Also of interest to lobster fishermen will be two sessions on Atlantic herring, a favored lobster bait that was subject to severe cuts of catch quotas this year. Officials will discuss the status of the fishery, proposed catch rules through 2021, and impacts on the herring fleet.
Wind energy development in the Gulf of Maine will be the subject of a full day of seminars, with speakers scheduled to address current development projects in offshore regions and within state waters, infrastructure and permitting issues, and the coexistence of fisheries with the wind industry.
Maine’s burgeoning aquaculture sector, expected to add up to 17,400 direct and indirect jobs by 2025, will be the subject of a couple of seminars. One will focus on scallop farming equipment and methods. Fishermen and marine tradespeople will also be able to learn about low-cost aquaculture training opportunities through several organizations around Maine.
Additional topics include the federal and state scallop fisheries, how to start a business, an open forum with federal fishery managers, safety, and the annual preseason meeting of the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association, which expects to run 11 races this summer.
“Voices of the Maine Fishermen's Forum” is back for a third time to share audio stories and photographs from previous forum attendees.
For more information about these and other seminars, click here.
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