Dear Department of Marine Resources Notification Recipient,

Augusta - Zachery Allen was sworn in as a Marine Patrol Officer (MPO) by DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher December 9, 2024 in Augusta. MPO Allen has been assigned to the Milbridge patrol in Washington County. MPO Allen previously served as a Hancock County deputy sheriff, a position he held since 2017. Zach holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Husson University and is currently working on his master’s degree. Zach is also a 2018 graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s Basic Law Enforcement Training Program.

The United States Department of Navy in cooperation with U.S. Coast Guard proposes to conduct certain activities as part of the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing Phase IV needed to meet mission requirements along the East Coast of the U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, and portions of the Caribbean Sea. This includes activities occurring at Navy and Coast Guard pierside locations; port transit channels, bays, harbors, inshore waterways, and civilian ports; during transits between homeports and operating areas; and on the high seas.

The Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing on Chapter 25.76, Lobster Minimum Size on January 9, 2025 at 5:00 pm in DMR’s Conference Room 118, Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta ME, and remotely via Microsoft Teams. 

A link to join the meeting remotely is below:

The Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing on Chapter 25.76, Lobster Minimum Size on January 7, 2025 at 5:00 pm at Jeff's Catering in Brewer. 

If the hearing must be cancelled due to inclement weather, an alternate hearing will be held on January 10 at 3:00 pm in DMR’s Conference Room 118, Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom lane, Augusta ME, and remotely via Microsoft Teams. Remote access information is posted to https://www.maine.gov/dmr/home under “meetings”.

BRIEF SUMMARY:

The Commercial Fishing Safety Council will meet December 11, 2024 via Microsoft Teams. A link to join the meeting is below and an agenda for the meeting is attached to this notice.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to authorize discharges under the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 301(h) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for the following facilities: Bayville Village Corporation (ME0101664), City of Eastport (ME0100200), Eastport Quoddy Village (ME0102148), Town of Lubec (ME0102016), Town of North Haven (ME0101907), Northport Village Corporation (ME0101901), and Stonington Sanitary District (ME0101851).

We are approaching the middle of the urchin harvest season and the Department is scheduling a virtual mid-season check-in meeting for Monday, December 16^th from 5:00pm-7:00pm. Below is the virtual link and information to access the meeting.

The check-in will cover how the early season has been with the new flexible harvest option, to share information as we head into the late season. We will also discuss the upcoming sea urchin zone council members election.