The Maine Sea Grant program was abruptly ended by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, amid sweeping cutbacks to NOAA’s budget.
The news came Saturday during the Maine Fishermen’s Forum, an annual industry gathering in Rockland that Maine Sea Grant first helped organize in the 1980s. The Trump administration budget ax would cut $1.5 million in funding this year, $4.5 million through January 2028 and affect 20 Sea Grant workers at the University of Maine in Orono and the state’s small coastal ports.
“It has been determined that the program activities proposed to be carried out in Year 2 of the Maine Sea Grant Omnibus Award are no longer relevant to the focus of the Administration’s priorities and program objectives,” stated a notification letter from NOAA to University of Maine officials.
The cutoff comes after a public spat between Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump Feb. 21 during a meeting with state governors, when Trump threatened to cut off federal funding for Maine if the state refuses to comply with his executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Mills replied “See you in court.”
Advocates for fishing communities said the cutoff of Sea Grant – a 50-year program to help coastal communities develop and protect fishing industries – will be very destructive.
“We are devastated and frankly shocked by this news, knowing the value proposition that Sea Grant offers for our coastal communities and fishing fleets,” said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. “Maine’s Sea Grant programs actively collaborate with our fishing communities, businesses and schools to maximize the impact of federal funding and contribute to long-term economic viability in our coastal communities.”
“I have had a great working relationship with Sea Grant for decades — as long as I’ve been working in the fishing industry,” said Noah Oppenheim, coordinator for the Fishing Communities Coalition. “No other federal program has staff as invested in the success of our fishing industry than Sea Grant.”
“Every fishing town in Maine will be affected by this shutdown. Sea Grant’s work in Maine includes training young fishermen for opportunities to enter and lead our fishing industry, as well as listening and responding to the needs of our fishing communities,” said Gerry Cushman, a fourth-generation Maine fisherman, founding member of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and a board member of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
“We hope this potentially disastrous decision for Maine’s fishing industry was an oversight that will be corrected swiftly so we can get back to the work of strengthening our industry with our partners at Maine Sea Grant.”
“Today should have been a time for connection, collaboration, and looking ahead at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. Instead, it has been a sobering day for all of us,” wrote Alicia Gaiero, who recently joined Maine Sea Grant as a fisheries extension associate.
“While we gathered to discuss the future of Maine’s fishing industry, we learned that the federal government has eliminated funding for the Maine Sea Grant program - an organization that, fittingly, was instrumental in establishing this very forum 50 years ago.”
