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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Maine Aquaculture Association Contributes $5K to Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s Legal Defense Fund
HALLOWELL, Maine, April 5th, 2022 – The Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) today announced the donation of $5,000 to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s (MLA) legal defense fund to help them challenge existential threats to the lobster fishery.
“The Maine lobster industry is vital to the state’s working waterfronts, coastal communities, and the Maine brand,” said Sebastian Belle, Executive Director of the MAA. “As fellow seafood harvesters, we stand in solidarity with our working waterfront colleagues to support them in their fight for fair and effective regulations.”
Across all ocean farmers in Maine, roughly 1 in 6 also holds a commercial lobster fishing license. Maine lobstermen are innovators and important stewards of marine resources. By diversifying their business into aquaculture, fishing families supplement their income by farming kelp, a winter crop in rotation with the busy summer and fall fishing seasons. “It’s critical to support Maine lobstermen at this time,” said Bri Warner, president and CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms. “Economic and environmental sustainability, not to mention the future of fishing families, depend upon it.”
For over 20 years, Maine lobstermen have adapted their gear to comply with evolving regulations aimed at protecting endangered North Atlantic Right Whales from entanglement – and continue to do so. However, a new federal plan will require lobstermen to reduce their already minimal risk to the whale by another 98-percent. It’s an unachievable goal that could make it impossible for the lobster industry to survive and could functionally eliminate it by 2030. Last fall, MLA filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC asking the court to require the government to come up with a new plan based on sound science that would protect both the whale and the lobster industry.
“The government has gotten it wrong and is ignoring science,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “We need to prove this in court, but we are up against the federal government and national organizations with deep pockets and political muscle. That is why we are so grateful for partners like the Maine Aquaculture Association that understand the economic importance of protecting Maine’s lobster industry and the need to save Maine’s lobstering heritage.”
In November 2021, the MLA launched a three year, $10-million campaign to Save Maine Lobstermen. The MAA strongly encourages all Maine sea farmers and anyone who loves our iconic coast and famous Maine lobster to donate to this fund. Electronic payments can be made here.
About the Maine Aquaculture Association
The Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA) est. 1978, is a nonprofit trade association that advocates for Maine’s finfish, shellfish, and sea vegetable farmers. MAA’s mission is to support the state’s aquatic growers in developing economically and environmentally sustainable business practices, to promote the benefits of aquaculture in the local food system, and to preserve Maine’s heritage of a vibrant working waterfront.
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