Trump White House Supports Delaying Right Whale Regulations for Maine Lobster Fishery Until 2035

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has announced it "strongly supports" legislation that would delay new fishing regulations affecting Maine's lobster industry from 2028 to 2035, giving the sector additional time to adapt to North Atlantic right whale protection measures.

The endorsement backs H.R. 8509, introduced by Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME), which would extend the current regulatory moratorium by seven years. In a Statement of Administration Policy published May 1, the OMB said that "if H.R. 8509 were presented...

Lutnick Pledges Maine Lobster Coordination, Disaster Relief Reform Under Bicoastal Senate Pressure

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faced intense scrutiny from senators representing both coasts during his April 22, 2026, Senate Appropriations Committee testimony, addressing mounting concerns over federal fisheries management from Maine's lobster industry to Alaska's disaster-stricken crab fleet.

Senator Susan Collins secured multiple commitments from Lutnick regarding Maine's lobster industry as the sector approaches a critical regulatory transition. With Congress's 2022 moratorium on new NOAA regulations affecting the American Lobster Fishery set to expire in 2028, Collins pressed for comprehensive industry coordination...

Maine Senators Press NMFS on Ropeless Gear Concerns as Industry Testing Continues

Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) are urging the National Marine Fisheries Service to fully consider Maine lobstermen's documented concerns about ropeless fishing gear requirements, and to continue stakeholder engagement as the agency prepares future North Atlantic right whale conservation rulemaking.

In a letter to NMFS Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñero Soler, the senators highlighted industry feedback from the recent Maine Fishermen's Forum, where lobstermen directly shared concerns about costs, safety risks, and operational challenges posed by ropeless technology mandates...

Maine Lobster Harvest Drops 8M Pounds in 2025, Value Down More Than $75M

Maine’s lobster fishery softened in 2025, with preliminary state data showing landings down by roughly 8 million pounds and total value falling by more than $75 million year‑over‑year.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) reported lobstermen landed 78.8 million pounds last year, generating just over $461 million at the dock. The average boat price was $5.85 per pound — the third‑highest on record — but higher per‑pound returns did not offset the volume decline...

ASMFC Lobster Stock Assessment: Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank Not Depleted but Overfishing Rising

A stock assessment found that the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) is not depleted but has dipped 34% since peak levels in 2018, and overfishing is taking place. Meanwhile, the Southern New England (SNE) stock remains “significantly depleted,” with record-low abundances for all life stages in recent years.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)’s American Lobster Management Board received the results this week.

“The Benchmark Stock Assessment is a considerable advancement in our understanding US American lobster resource...

Indiana’s Aquashell USA to Acquire Cozy Harbor Seafood and Affiliates in $6.5M Deal

Maine lobster processor Cozy Harbor Seafood, along with its affiliate companies Casco Bay Lobster and Art’s Lobster, was purchased by Indiana-based Aquashell USA for $6.5 million.

The deal includes the price of $2,015,099 for Cozy Harbor's accounts receivable, $2,738,920 in Inventory and $1,750,000 in property. The transaction now awaits court approval.

The sale comes after Cozy Harbor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, as reported by Expana. The initial bankruptcy filing...

Congressman Jared Golden Pushes to Extend Lobster Fishing Regulation Moratorium Until 2035 

Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME) is calling on lawmakers to extend a federal pause on new lobster fishing regulations aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales.  

Golden worked alongside Maine Governor Janet Mills in 2023 to create the current moratorium, which is set to expire in 2028. Now, he’s urging the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) to extend the pause until 2035 through a proposed amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). 

Speaking before the HNRC Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries on...

Maine Sea Grant Helping State Conserve Atlantic Salmon

The last wild population of Atlantic salmon in the US is getting a boost from Maine Sea Grant.  

The University of Maine-led program is aiding the Maine Department of Marine Resources with fish stocking, habitat restoration and research in the Gulf of Maine. 

In its sixth year, the joint NMFS/Maine Sea Grant program paid summer interns to work with the department on Atlantic salmon research and conservation for 13 weeks each summer — from Downeast Maine to the Kennebec and Penobscot River watersheds...

Cozy Harbor, a Maine Lobster Staple, Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Cozy Harbor Seafood, a staple processor in the Maine lobster industry, along with its companies Art’s Lobster Co. and Casco Bay Lobster, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 1.

The bankruptcy declaration filed by Cozy Harbor’s owner, John Norton, said the decision stems from “the price of seafood that it purchases for processing” coming out of the pandemic, along with tariff uncertainty.

“Premised on price instability arising first out of the COVID pandemic and then out of uncertainty due to tariff threats, the Debtors have had trouble operating within...

Commerce Secretary Lutnick Addresses Maine Lobster Tariffs, Promises Science-Backed Regulations

Last week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick weighed in on pressing concerns for Maine's lobster industry, including US-Canada lobster tariffs and promising a commitment to "gold standard science" in future federal regulations impacting the state's staple seafood.

Lutnick went so far as to call the industry an “American treasure” that should be protected.

During the hearing, Lutnick was questioned by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), who highlighted how intertwined Canada and Maine are, noting the impact of tariffs on lobster, which is primarily processed in Canada, along with other...

NOAA Closes Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Area After Quota Reached

NOAA Fisheries announced that the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will close to all federally permitted Limited Access General Category scallop vessels effective April 13, 2026.

The closure follows NOAA's projection that 100% of the 2026 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside allocation will be harvested, according to an April 10 bulletin. The area will remain closed through the end of the fishing year on March 31, 2027.

Vessels that declared trips in the area and crossed the Vessel Monitoring System demarcation...

Maine Lobsterman Petitions Supreme Court Over GPS Tracking Rule

A Maine lobsterman has petitioned the US Supreme Court to hear his challenge of a federal rule requiring 24/7 GPS tracking on licensed lobster vessels, arguing the mandate violates Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless surveillance.

Frank Thompson, a fifth-generation lobsterman, seeks to overturn the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission rule passed in 2023 that requires all federally licensed lobster vessels to install and continuously operate GPS trackers that transmit location data to the government at least once per minute...

US Trade Representative Pressed to Address Gray Zone Rules Amid USMCA Discussions

Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) sent a letter to US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, urging updated rules for the Gray Zone, a 277-square-mile area of ocean near Machias Seal Island that is fished by both the US and Canada and remains one of America's only contested maritime borders.

Golden’s letter came amid testimony from two Maine fishermen to the International Trade Commission (ITC) last week. The meetings focused on potential changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)...

2025 Maine Scallop License Lottery Winners Announced

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) has announced the latest winners of the state’s scallop license lotteries. The winners include the following:

• Drag Licenses
• Maxmilian Bogdanovich, Scarborough
• Morgan Wood, Marshfield
• Logan Alley, Jonesport
• Jared Taylor, Cutler
• Mccabe Burch, Thomaston
• Phillip Spearing, Owls Head
• Tyler Sukeforth, South Thomaston
• Geoffrey Barrett, North Haven
• Travis Atwood, Orland
• Joseph Locurto, Steuben
• Christopher Mcintire, Orrs Island
• Timothy Morgan, Pembroke
• Justin Wright, Machiaspoprt
• Jeffrey Conant, Harpswell
• Dive Licenses
• Matthew Garvey, Surry
• Joseph Baranello, Seal Cove
• Chris Burke, Ellsworth
• Nathan Matthews, Trescott...

Ex-Ready Seafood Execs Push Back Against Lawsuit, Deny Stealing Trade Secrets

Two former Ready Seafood executives are firing back at their old employer’s lawsuit, denying in newly filed court papers that they stole trade secrets or poached customers to launch their competing company, Packers Pride USA.

In a motion filed on July 24, Andrew Daughan and Robert Kragh, and their company, opposed the temporary and preliminary restraining order that was filed by Ready Seafood earlier this month, as Expana’s Seafoodnews reported last week. The restraining order would halt Packers Pride from soliciting Ready’s customers in the coming years...

Ready Seafood Sues Ex-Executives, Alleges Trade Secret Theft After Founding Packers Pride

Ready Seafood, a prominent Maine-based supplier of live and processed lobster products, has filed a lawsuit against two of its former executives, Andrew Daughan and Robert Kragh, as well as their newly formed company, Packers Pride.

The suit, filed on July 14 in US District Court, alleges that the former employees breached their contracts and illegally used confidential business information to directly compete with their former employer. 

Daughan was hired in 2018 as Ready Seafood’s Vice President of Category Management. He was tasked with...

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Funding to Boost Maine’s Lobster Industry  

The Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced funding to support Maine’s lobster industry, as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), who chairs the committee, announced the approval on Monday. 

The bill allocates funding across several areas, including 

- $30 million to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for research and monitoring related to North Atlantic right whales. 

- $80 million for the National Sea Grant Program, which in Maine supports sustainable fisheries, working waterfronts, and...

Maine DMR: Body of Missing Milbridge Man Recovered

At approximately 11 a.m. today, the body of Alton Wallace, 51 of Milbridge was recovered by Maine Marine Patrol Officers from the western shore of Foster Island in Narraguagus Bay. Mr. Wallace had been missing since Sunday, May 18 when he failed to return from harvesting clams, prompting a search of the Bay and surrounding islands.

Wallace's body was located today by a fisherman near the high-water line. The fisherman reported it to Marine Patrol Officers who quickly responded and were able to confirm his identity by his driver's license...

Alaska’s Murkowski and Maine’s King Reintroduce the Working Waterfronts Act 

Last Friday, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Angus King (I-ME), reintroduced the Working Waterfronts Act, 16 months after it was introduced in the last Congress.  

The bill includes more than a dozen provisions aimed at boosting the workforce, shoreside infrastructure, energy availability, food security, and overall economies of coastal communities in Alaska and across the country. The bill will also support efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and strengthen federal conservation research projects. 

Two and a half years ago Senator Murkowski...