In the News | June 2025

Comments sought on Portland Harbor dredging

The Portland Harbor Commission is planning to dredge 28 areas of the immediate waterfront in Portland Harbor/Fore River to improve berthing and enhance sediment and water quality. The dredging of the Portland Harbor waterfront consists of 17 piers, eight marinas/boat yards, and a landing. Construction will be performed within the work window of November 1 – March 15. Work is anticipated to begin in fall 2025 and occur over five years. DMR will accept verbal and written comments about the potential impacts on fishing in the area to be dredged and impacts to the fishing industry of the proposed route to transport the dredge spoils. Comments should be sent to DMR by 5:00 pm, June 13.

Photo courtesy of Blue World Research Institute.

Right whale, presumed dead, seen again

An endangered right whale believed to have died three years ago has resurfaced in Massachusetts. The female North Atlantic right whale was last seen three years ago. At that time, she had recently been entangled in fishing gear and had injuries from the entanglement. Consequently, when she did not return the following season, it was believed she had succumbed to her injuries. But staff from the New England Aquarium spotted the female whale this spring in Cape Cod Bay. She was no longer entangled in fishing gear and looked healthy.

European Union may keep U.S. lobsters duty free

The European Union is open to extending a trade deal which allows the duty-free import of U.S. lobsters as part of a broader package aimed at removing U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the Financial Times reported in late May. The EU’s current regulation eliminating customs duties for fresh and frozen lobsters from the U.S. expires on July 31. The lobster deal between the U.S. and EU was struck in 2020 during Trump’s first term.

New York offshore wind project on again

In late May the Trump administration allowed construction to restart on the Empire Wind project off the coast of Long Island, after federal officials in April had issued a highly unusual stop-work order. The project, known as Empire Wind, is being built by the Norwegian company Equinor. Equinor had obtained all necessary permits for the project after a four-year federal environmental review, and the company had already begun laying seafloor foundations for the project’s turbines. Another 1,500 workers had begun constructing a marine terminal in Brooklyn. Equinor warned that it might have to cancel the project, which was already 30% complete. The company said it had been losing $50 million every week that construction was halted, with nearly a dozen vessels and many workers sitting idle. With the administration’s reversal, Equinor announced work would now restart, with a completion date of 2027.

Wandering right whales return to Canada

A pair of endangered female right whales that made several surprise appearances off Florida’s west coast this winter have returned to their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic. The two whales, called Curlew and Koala, spent almost three months off Florida’s west coast, swimming north and south from near St. Petersburg to beaches along the western Panhandle. The two whales were identified on May 15 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, north of Prince Edward Island. They had traveled roughly 2,700 miles since they were seen off St. Petersburg, Florida, on April 11, 34 days earlier.

Benthic Mapping Survey from June through October

The Maine Coastal Mapping Initiative will be conducting a benthic mapping survey from early June through October 31. Fieldwork will consist of seafloor sonar mapping with a pole-mounted Kongsberg EM2042 multibeam echosounder (MBES) aboard the F/V Titan (66’ dragger). The F/V Titan will run along pre-determined survey lines at <7 kts. The location areas are between 9-57 miles southeast of Portland and 15-65 miles south of Boothbay Harbor. Survey areas are west of Jeffreys Bank, north and west of Jeffreys Ledge, east of West Cod Ledge, and south of Monhegan. Survey trips will depart and return to Portland. Transit to the various survey areas within the larger effort area will be conducted along straight lines once clear of Casco Bay.

Contact information: Vessels will be monitoring VHF Channel 16. F/V Titan, Michael Love, 207-749-2122, lovefisheries@hotmail.com.

Gear loss and general inquiries: Jesse Minor, 350-7816, jesse.minor@maine.gov or contact your local Marine patrol officers. For survey information, visit www.maine.gov/dmr/science/ecology-environment/maine-coast-mapping/offshore-mapping