Maine Lobstermen's Association Update | September 2026

Billion Egg Challenge Enters its Final Month

Thank you to all who have participated in and supported MLA’s Billion Egg Challenge this summer. We’ve got just under a month to go and are over half way to our goal! Thank you to the more than 175 lobstermen who have joined the challenge to help us protect one billion lobster eggs, a huge investment in our future.

Over 800 public supporters are watching to see if we meet our goal and are learning first-hand about Maine’s sustainable practices. They are hoping, of course, that they have backed the winning team so they have a chance to win Free Lobster For a Year!

Maverick Ausplund shows the crowd how it's done. MLA photo.

MLA at Maine Lobster Festival

The MLA was proud to once again be a part of the Maine Lobster Festival, selling our popular “No One Comes to Maine to Eat Chicken” T-shirts, judging the Lobster Delegate contest, and co-sponsoring the International Great Crate Race with Geary Brewing Company.

MLA Board member Gerry Cushman once again hosted the Delegate contestants on his boat out of Port Clyde to teach them about lobstering and the importance of Maine’s conservation measures. Chris Payne was a judge for the Festival’s Delegate contest and was impressed by all of the contestants. Congratulations to Lindsey Clifford of Rockport who was chosen as the 2026 Maine Lobster Delegate.

The MLA partnered with Geary Brewing Company to co-sponsor the popular International Great Crate Race, which draws big crowds to the Rockland waterfront. Congratulations to the overall Champion and Featherweight Champion, Maverick Ausplund of Rockland, who defended his 2025 win by running 6,050 crates.

NMFS Seeks Input on Potential Future Whale Rules

On August 17, NMFS announced a 60-day scoping period for the next phase in developing and analyzing recommendations that may result in proposed modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP). This is the next phase in the process to comply with Congress’s direction that NMFS issue new regulations for the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries that are consistent with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act. New regulations must be in place by December 31, 2028. NMFS is using this scoping period to ensure any future actions and regulations are grounded in economic reality and support the tradition of American commercial fishing.

NMFS will be asking for ideas and suggestions regarding any amendments to the ALWTRP and information on the impact on North Atlantic right whales of all existing and innovative U.S. commercial gear used in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries along the U.S. East Coast. Comments from the scoping period will inform discussions during the upcoming 2026 and 2027 Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team meetings, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis of a 2028 ALWTRP amendment.

The scoping process is not a notice of proposed rulemaking. Rather, it is an early step to get public input on the scope of the regulations.

Comments must be received by October 16. An online meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. and will include information on both scoping and NMFS Request for Information on Ropeless Fishing and Alternative Gear Marking. NMFS will also provide a recorded presentation online.

Presentations may be provided, based on scheduling availability, at ASMFC and Council meetings.

NMFS Request for Information on Ropeless Fishing and Alternative Gear Marking

On July 16, NMFS announced it is seeking information from fishery participants and others with specialized knowledge on the potential voluntary use of ropeless fishing gear, which includes on-demand fishing gear and other fixed gear that does not use persistent buoy lines. Responses are due on or before October 14.

According to NMFS, responses may inform the potential future voluntary use, development, and management of ropeless fishing in the Northeast lobster/trap and other fixed gear fisheries. NMFS is seeking feedback from fixed-gear and mobile-gear fishermen and other stakeholders on 52 distinct questions concerning operational safety, gear conflicts, premature releases, data governance, and training requirements associated with ropeless and on demand fishing gear. NMFS will summarize the responses and share that summary publicly.

Bait Fishery Updates

Maine’s directed commercial menhaden fishery opened June 8 and closed August 11, when DMR projected the 19,599,137 pounds of quota had been landed. The commercial Episodic fishery opened on August 17 and closed on August 21 when the 4,119,117 pounds of quota was estimated to have been landed by Maine and Massachusetts fishermen. DMR re-opened the directed menhaden fishery under transferred quota on August 31 with harvests on Mondays and Thursdays and a daily trip limit of 7,000 pounds.

It is extremely important that ALL harvesters complete and submit menhaden trip reports daily so DMR can accurately track and report landings to ASMFC.

The Area 1A herring fishery opened July 19 with a small quota allocation of 2,401 metric tons (mt). As of August 20, Area 1A reported landing 3.1% of the quota. Area 1A vessels are allowed five consecutive landing days a week of up to 240,000 lbs. or 6 trucks per week. Small mesh bottom trawl vessels with an Atlantic herring Limited Access Category C or Open Access D permit may land herring six consecutive days a week. The total quota for all areas is 9,134 mt of which 8.6% has been landed (Area 1A at 3.1%, Area 1B at a136%, Area2 at 0.3%, and Area 3 at 4.5%).

ASMFC American Lobster Board

The Lobster Board met on August 4 to consider a number of issues: an update from the Management Objectives Process Steering Committee (SC); a conservation equivalency proposal for Lobster Conservation Management Area (LCMA) 5; reports from Maine and Massachusetts on recent industry meetings with the Gulf of Maine lobster industry; and an update from NOAA Fisheries on the Request for Information (RFI) on alternative gear marking.

In May, the Board formed a Steering Committee (SC) to develop a process to define management objectives for the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) lobster fishery. The SC includes representation from the Commission’s Lobster Board, Technical Committee, Economics and Social Sciences, and staff and industry stakeholders. The SC met in June to review existing management objectives and discuss gaps, taking into consideration the status of the lobster stock and social/economic conditions facing the fishery today. The SC will meet two more times to develop recommendations for a process to identify new management objectives across all stakeholders and identify potential management tools. A final report is expected to be delivered to the Board in November.

Maine held meetings earlier this year with its seven Lobster Zone Councils and Lobster Advisory Council to discuss management measures and conservation efforts. In June, the Lobster Advisory Council recommended that lobstermen increase the size of the required biological escape panel to 4.5 by 6 inches, over a two year period, to allow more larger lobsters to escape. This proposal will be discussed at the next round of Lobster Zone Council meetings this fall. Maine will consider subsequent rulemaking in response to those discussions. Massachusetts reported it is in the process of reconstituting its LCMT membership.

The Board received an update from NOAA Fisheries on the Request for Information (RFI) published on July 16 on ropeless gear and visualization technology. The RFI seeks information from fishery participants and others with specialized knowledge on the potential use of ropeless fishing gear to inform management decisions on alternative gear marking. The RFI requests information specific to program design, utility, limitations, and technical capability of ropeless fishing. Comments will be accepted until October 14 and can be submitted electronically via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov for NOAA-NMFS-2026-2080-0001.

The Lobster Board also approved a conservation equivalency for LCMA 5 (inshore and offshore Mid-Atlantic) to allow LCMA 5 lobster permit holders to target black sea bass during the February 1 through March 31 lobster fishery closure. Black sea bass fishermen who hold a lobster permit will be allowed to set and haul black sea bass gear on March 9 instead of March 24. This change is not expected to increase lobster mortality. The Lobster Board noted that federal regulations will need to be revised to allow federal lobster permit holders to target black sea bass at this earlier date.

For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org.

ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden

The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for public comment. The Draft Addendum considers options to reduce the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap by up to 50% and distribute the cap more evenly throughout the fishing season. The options aim to alleviate a concentration of effort that may be affecting other fisheries within the Bay and other potential ecological impacts.

The management proposal was initiated in response to concerns regarding declining pound net harvest and catch per unit effort in Chesapeake Bay in recent years, coinciding with an increase in the concentration of reduction harvest in the summer months, and the possible downstream effects on menhaden predators.

The management proposal also includes options that link the Cap to the coastwide total allowable catch in order to maintain a more fixed proportion between the two, as well as options to distribute the Cap into three quota periods to prevent a concentration of reduction harvest in the spring and summer of the fishing season.

ASMFC will announce the availability of the document for public comment, the public hearing schedule, and how to submit written comments, which will be available on the Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Action Tracker webpage. A public comment form will also be available as another option to submit input on the Draft Addendum’s specific options.

The Board will review submitted comments and consider final action on the addendum at the Commission’s November 2026 meeting in Newport, Rhode Island. For more information, please contact James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at jboyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Herring Board

On August 4, the Atlantic Herring Management Board reviewed the recent 2025 research and 2026 management stock assessments and received an update from the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) on its herring management timeline to set quota and address river herring and shad bycatch.

The Herring Board accepted the 2025 Research Track Stock Assessment and 2026 Management Track Stock Assessment conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) for management use. NEFSC noted it has continued concern that the projections are overly optimistic. The Herring Board also noted the importance of taking actionable steps to address the research recommendations, including the integration of state and federal surveys to provide more information on age-1 Atlantic herring.

The Board received an update from the NEFMC on its upcoming Atlantic herring actions. The NEFMC plans to take final action on 2027-2031 herring specifications at its September 2026 meeting. Through a separate action, NEFMC will continue working on measures to minimize catch of river herring and shad in the Atlantic herring fishery through time area closures and carryover provision modifications, with final action targeted for April 2027.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Canada Updates its Lobster Science

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) published a new report in August, Effects of Adapting Harvest Controls for the Inshore Lobster Fishery in the Maritimes Region. Adam Cook, DFO scientist and the co-lead of the report, told CBC News, “Lobster fisheries are still considered healthy in Canadian waters. We still are well above long-term averages for the majority of our stock status indicators.” Changes to biology, ecosystems, and fisheries highlight the need to understand and evaluate a variety of potential management measures.

If productivity is declining, then immediate action may be required, the report suggests. Management response should emphasize fast-acting measures to generate immediate gains in egg production—such as increasing minimum legal size and/or implementing an area-specific size window aligned with local maturity patterns.

If productivity is stable or building resilience, the report suggests introducing measures that support spawning stock biomass accumulation over time. This includes adopting a V-notching program that meets conservation objectives and implementing strategic maximum size limits—ideally for both females and males in areas where large male availability may be limited.

If the stock is rebuilding following poor recruitment, the report suggests maintaining fast-acting protections while accelerating the implementation of resilience-building measures. Incremental increases to minimum legal size or expansion of window sizes may be appropriate; otherwise, priority should be placed on V-notching and maximum size limits to retain multiparous females.

Effort reduction measures to reduce exploitation should also be implemented. Across all scenarios, managers should evaluate escape vent configurations on minimum legal size-specific basis. When reducing effort, prioritize end-of-season reductions over periodic closures. Avoid season timing changes that increase catchability and associated exploitation.

According to Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association in LFA 34, which has 978 license holders, lobster landings have fallen about 50% over the past decade. “A lot of people do identify something needs to be done,” Fleck said. “Exactly what needs to be done or what’s next… something needs to occur to get this stabilized.”