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L A N D I N G S
NEWS & VIEWS FROM MAINE'S LOBSTERING COMMUNITY
In January 2013, the MLCA launched Landings, a monthly newspaper which balances
its content amongst science, history, resource sustainability, economic development,
and human interest stories. Through Landings, MLCA educates the public and lobster
industry stakeholders about the unique characteristics of Maine’s lobstering traditions,
its history and heritage, ongoing research to maintain the sustainability of the resource,
and its non-harmful and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices.
Distributing more than 6,500 copies of this 24+page publication free via mail each
month to all of Maine’s commercial lobstermen, state government agency staff, elected
state officials, Congressional delegation, subscribers, marine businesses; and to the
public at various locations around the state including ferry terminals, marine supply
stores and annual educational forums.
Canadian Spring Lobster Season Cold and Slow
By Melissa Waterman The Lobster Institute hosted a meeting in June with lobstermen, lobster dealers and processors to discuss the state of the market for the Canadian and U.S. lobster sectors. The meeting focused on the current Canadian spring lobster season and what to expect for the upcoming Maine lobster season. In the fall a similar meeting will be held to assess market conditions during the U.S. lobster season. Cold water and poor weather have kept landings down in the M
Jun 292 min read
Maine Commercial Fishing Remembrance Day July 21
By Liz Michaud, Green and White Hope, and Annie Sokoloski On July 21, fishing communities across Maine will unite to honor those lost at sea on Maine Commercial Fishing Remembrance Day. This year’s observance marks a historic milestone, as Maine Commercial Fishing Remembrance Day is now officially recognized in Maine law, ensuring that the sacrifices of Maine’s fishing families will be remembered for generations to come. Family and friends gather at last year's ceremony in Lu
Jun 292 min read
Lobster Boat Race History: That Ol' Devil Propane
By Brian Robbins When I first started at Commercial Fisheries News (CFN) back in 1988, they asked if I would cover the lobster boat races held along the Maine coast during the summer. I was up for it, although I’d never attended a race prior to that. We were always either out on an offshore lobster trip, getting ready to leave on a trip, or had just come home from a trip and lobster boat races just weren’t on my radar. I soon figured out it wasn’t going to be as easy as it lo
Jun 294 min read
Women in Fisheries: Kristyn Kleman
By Melissa Waterman When a person is young, they typically don’t know what they want to be when they grow up. That was the case for Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Sea Sampling and Ventless Trap Survey coordinator Kristyn Kleman, 36. But Kleman did recognize that as a youngster she really liked going fishing with her father. She grew up in Pennsylvania and her father was an avid recreational fisherman. “I went out with him when I was just a baby. We would go to the Chesa
Jun 293 min read
Department of Marine Resources Marine Mammal Research Right Whale Survey Update
By Sarah Leiter, DMR Division of Marine Mammal Research The Division of Marine Mammal Research Survey Program (NMFS Permit No. 27858) has been conducting monthly aerial and vessel surveys for North Atlantic right whales since July of 2024. The Program has completed an Annual Report summarizing aerial and vessel survey work conducted in 2025. This report is available on the DMR website https://www.maine.gov/dmr/science/right-whale/monitoring/visual-surveys. Most notably, despi
Jun 291 min read
Your Questions, Answered: Are Atlantic bluefin tuna doing well?
By Melissa Waterman Chris Weiner is passionate about Atlantic bluefin tuna. After fishing into the late hours the day before, he is driving to Snug Harbor, Rhode Island, to pick up small tuna for genetic testing, and talking a mile-a-minute about his favorite subject, tuna. Atlantic bluefin tuna. Photo courtesy of GMRI. Weiner is the executive director of the Bluefin Collaborative; his father Steve is its president. The non-profit organization’s mission is to improve Atlantic
Jun 294 min read
Steaming Ahead | July 2026
Every once in a while, an idea comes along that lets us do several important things at the same time. The Billion Egg Challenge is one of those ideas. It gives Maine lobstermen a chance to compete, have some fun, and show pride in one of the most important conservation practices in our fishery. It gives businesses a chance to invest directly in the Maine fishery’s signature conservation measure while helping us tell the public the truth about this industry. And it gives lobst
Jun 294 min read
Maine Lobstermen's Association Update | July 2026
MLA June Board Meeting The MLA Board met on June 3 in Port Clyde. Chairman Sonny Beal thanked Gerry Cushman for hosting the meeting. The board heard reports from the Executive Board and Emerging Issues Committee. The Executive Board provides guidance to staff between Board meetings on urgent or developing matters. The Emerging Issues Committee has made progress on its work regarding the effectiveness of enforcement penalties. The MLA provided feedback to Maine’s Commercial Fi
Jun 297 min read
MLA Jr Harvesters: Olivia Meyer and Emma Miller
Olivia Myers, 16, and her sister Emma Miller, 10, lobster in Wheeler Bay in South Thomaston. Olivia began fishing with her stepfather Ryan when she was 8. “There are five generations of lobstermen in my family,” Olivia explained. She is the great-granddaughter of John Olsen of Cushing, who lobstered well into his 90s. Emma has been lobstering with her parents since she was 2. “My dad helped me get started. I really wanted to try it,” she said. According to her mother Katy, Em
Jun 292 min read
To Your Health: Build a body that lasts with strength, mobility, mindset and recovery
By Toni Small If you are a 20-year-old fisherman, consider this article a gift to your 50-year-old self. We’ll address middle age and older fishermen specifically in the next two articles. Toni Small, married to a lifelong Maine lobsterman, is a movement coach who works with the USDA AgriAbility/FishAbility project. If you’ve been to a First Aid & CPR training with Fishing Partnerships Support Services (FPSS) lately, you’ll have heard the instructors weave four themes through
Jun 294 min read
Summer's the Time to Visit Maine's Small Coastal Museums
By MLCA staff Commercial fishing has been a mainstay of Maine’s coastal economy since European settlers first landed on the shore. Beginning on Damariscove Island, fishermen harvested what the Gulf of Maine offered, founding towns and thriving harbors in the process. Kenneth E. Stoddard Shell Museum. Atlas Obscura photo. The stories of those coastal communities can be found in some of the small museums run by volunteers from Kittery to Calais. These are not high-tech museums
Jun 293 min read
In the News | July 2026
Lobster lady saluted by local fleet On what would have been Virginia Oliver’s 106th birthday, the lobster fishing community honored her on June 6 with a boat parade in Rockland harbor. Dozens of boats joined in a final farewell to “Ginny” Oliver, who died in January this year. She fished for decades with her husband Bill. After he died, she lobstered with her son Max until she was 102. Big Jim stands tall once again off Route 1 in Searsport. BDN Photo. Positive signs for Atla
Jun 292 min read
Vinalhaven Lobster Front and Center at Smithsonian Exhibit
On June 18, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History opened a new exhibit, From these Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage, which displays natural history objects from the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. Photo Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Every state, district and territory has plants, animals and minerals that represent their unique character, from birds, flowers and shells to rocks, gemstones and fossi
Jun 291 min read
House Farm Bill Includes Funds for New Office of Seafood
Launched on April 15, the USDA Office of Seafood bridges a historical gap by giving seafood producers and fishermen access to USDA programs (like grants, disaster assistance, and loans). It aims to streamline how American seafood harvesters and processors navigate federal resources and to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Commerce on the America First Seafood Strategy. Creation of the new office signals a shift acknowledging fish as food and fishermen as food producers u
Jun 291 min read
From the archive: New Leaders in Maine's Lobster Fishery: John Tripp, Spruce Head
Published in Landings October 2015 John Tripp’s new house sits on a wide expanse of cleared land in Spruce Head. On this quiet afternoon his five-week-old daughter Everly and his wife Mallary are resting upstairs. “We finished the house about a month before she was born,” Tripp, 27, said. In the year since he participated in the Lobster Leadership Institute, Tripp has experienced numerous changes, yet he radiates a sense of calm. John Tripp and his wife Mallory on the porch o
Jun 193 min read
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