MCCF is one of nine organizations that are members of the Downeast Fisheries Partnership, which formed in 2014. Our founding Director, Robin Alden, worked with Dwayne Shaw of the Downeast Salmon Federation and Anne Hayden of Manomet to start the idea of aligning forces towards common goals related to fisheries and community sustainability in eastern Maine. Since then, the DFP has grown to include nine organizations (listed below) and is currently being led by Director, Bob Wood who is housed at the Sunrise County Economic Council office in Machias. DFP has a new strategic plan and has goal teams that are collaborating on a range of issues including alewife restoration, shellfish management, and coastal fisheries diversification. DFP hosts gatherings to inform constituents, coordinates joint projects between member organizations and explores collaborative funding opportunities. There’s great value added through this collaborative partnership model and MCCF enjoys better penetration into other parts of eastern Maine and with a wider variety of stakeholders.

DFP members include: College of the Atlantic, Downeast Institute, Downeast Salmon Federation, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Maine Sea Grant, Manomet, Sunrise County Economic Council, Washington County Council of Governments

Last summer Federal District Court Judge James Boasberg announced his decision to allow NOAA Fisheries to continue their current progress in scientific evaluation (an updated Biological Opinion) and rulemaking for reducing risk to the North Atlantic Right Whale. In his decision, Judge Boasberg ordered NOAA Fisheries to have this work completed and proposed rules ready for implementation by May 30, 2021. NOAA Fisheries has announced their draft of the Environmental Impact Statement and draft of the Proposed Rules to minimize the threat of entanglement of endangered right whales in fishing gear. The draft rules include an assortment of proposed actions including seasonal closed areas, trap/trawl limits based on distance from shore, break-away technologies, and additional state-based marking requirements.

These two draft documents are now available at the NOAA Fisheries website and are open for comment until March 1, 2021. There is an Informational Session for the Northern Maine region on January 20 from 6:30 – 8:30pm and there is a Public Hearing for the Northern Maine region on February 24 from 6:30 – 8:30pm. If you need help finding a copy of these two draft documents or if you need information about how to connect to these meetings, please call us at MCCF and we’ll help you out.

While this year's annual Maine Fishermen's Forum event is cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, the Board of Directors has decided to take some of it's in-person events, online and on the radio. Some of those events include the popular Shellfish Day, lobster science, and many others. Planning is underway and once scheduled, a full list of events can be found on the Forum Facebook page and the Forum Website as well as through media releases and email notifications.

Although a live event will no longer take place, the Forum's Board of Directors announced that the Scholarship Book Award is accepting applications. According to their website, $40,000 in scholarships will be awarded to students from fishing and seafood families who are in at least their second year of college or vocational school. The scholarship application and more information can be found here.

We are pleased to welcome Catherine Moore who has joined our team in the role of Finance Manager. She is responsible for the organization’s primary day-to-day planning, implementing, managing and controlling all financial-related activities including accounting, finance and budget forecasting, and working with staff on budget development and reporting. She previously worked for The Bay School in Blue Hill as their Business Manager and Development Director.

Catherine has a M.A. in History specializing in federal preservation law from Colorado State University and a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College. She has a deep personal interest in our national parks and public lands and spends all of her vacation time visiting parks across the country. Catherine lives in Brooksville and is active in her church’s social justice work and outdoor ministries. She spends her free time hiking our local public lands, cooking, and dabbling in the fiber arts.

Catherine can be reached directly at [email protected].