Kathleen Reardon led the annual review of Department of Marine Resources (DMR) 2025 lobster survey findings during the DMR Science Updates session at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. The review was preceded by the department’s announcement that preliminary 2025 lobster landings came in at 78.8 million pounds, a decline of approximately eight million pounds from 2024. A multitude of environmental and economic factors influenced lobster landings in 2025. MLMC photo. “Lobster abundance...

Marianne LaCroix, executive director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC), spoke about the Collaborative’s 2025 accomplishments and plans for 2026 at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in March. The MLMC was created by the Maine Legislature in 2013 and must be reauthorized every five years. The Marine Resources Committee voted in February to reauthorize but only for two years rather than five. The MLMC’s eleven-person board is composed of four harvesters, three processors, two public...

The use of ropeless gear in the lobster fishery in order to protect North Atlantic right whales was front and center at the Fishermen’s Forum session with federal officials. On the panel were Dan Solerno, NEFMC chairman; Jon Hare, NEFSC; Michael Petony, GARFO; Eugenio P. Soler, NMFS head; and Kate O’Keefe, NEFMC executive director. Lobstermen's safety concerns about the use of ropeless lobster gear and worries about future right whale protection measures dominated the Forum session with...