Last Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) notified the University of Maine that it would immediately end its funding for the Maine Sea Grant — a key program that has bolstered coastal communities and created thousands of marine jobs over the past 50 years.

In a termination letter provided to the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, NOAA official Timothy Carrington wrote that the activities of Maine Sea Grant are “no longer relevant to the Administration’s priorities and program objectives.”

Wednesday, the administration agreed to renegotiate funding for Maine Sea Grant following conversations between U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

The renegotiation would put funding back on the table so long as the work supported by the program “focuses on advancing Maine’s coastal economies, working waterfronts and sustainable fisheries,” Collins’ office said in an emailed statement Wednesday afternoon. But the uncertainty still has fishermen and harvesters worried. 

The move to terminate the program — part of the White House’s efforts to slash the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget — leaves the fishery organization’s programming and 20 employees in limbo.

“Thanks to Maine Sea Grant support, Maine’s fishermen, coastal communities and marine economy are experiencing employment and earnings growth, and are increasingly well positioned to lead and innovate for a more resilient future,” said Maine Sea Grant Director Gayle Zydlewski. “This notice is devastating for our team and countless partners, the University of Maine and the entire state.”

Data from NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management in 2024 indicates that Maine has experienced a 10% increase in marine jobs over the past decade. 

Now, many are wondering how that might change. 

Alarm bells

Blue economy advocates say terminating the program would be “destructive.” 

Among those voices is Buzz Scott, the president of OceansWide, a nonprofit that works with fishermen to recover old fishing gear from Maine’s seafloor from Boothbay Harbor to Matinicus Isle.

He was at the Fisherman’s Forum in Rockland when he first heard the news.

“Maine Sea Grant is a family to all who work with them,” Scott said. “They have helped us network with funding sources and introduced innovative ways to repurpose lobster traps/marine debris. Losing them will reduce the advancements we’ve made in the Gulf of Maine. … Waters that were, and could be again, the fish basket of the world.” 

Ben Martens, executive director of the Brunswick-based Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, agreed. 

“Maine Sea Grant isn’t just another program,” Martens said. “They have cultivated a group of amazingly dedicated people who are leaders in our communities. More importantly, they are helpers. When crisis hits, like the working waterfront disaster of last January, they were on the frontline. This loss will hurt our working waterfront today but devastate our shared future.”

Thew Suskiewicz, a seaweed cultivation science coordinator at Atlantic Sea Farms in Biddeford, has worked closely with program staff. Through postdoctoral research at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science, he authored a recent study on rapid ocean warming in the Gulf of Maine over the past 30 years. 

Maine Sea Grant funded the project and facilitated connections among urchin fishermen, harvesters and scientists. The findings, published in the journal “Ecology,” demonstrate dramatic shifts in coastal ecosystems, particularly in kelp beds.

Suskiewicz broke the program’s benefits down into different tiers. Financially, it “saves Maine from incurring high costs related to restoration, cleanup and other issues.” Regarding knowledge transfer, “it bridges scientists and industry members” and educates the next generation on how to “run hatcheries, grow seaweed and market oysters.” 

“As a biologist, I’m trained to address scientific questions,” Suskiewicz said. “I view situations differently than a lobsterman looking to grow kelp on the side, focused on the cost of fuel, social capital involved, where to set up a kelp farm and the labor challenges. That’s where Sea Grant steps in — they excel at connecting people and proposing economically viable solutions.

“It’s unrealistic to expect someone who has dedicated their entire career to studying cells to think like a farmer and vice versa; the unifying role of Maine Sea Grant is critical.” 

‘The program is an essential service’

Andrew Buchner, a part-time employee at Eros Oyster in Georgetown and owner of Brooks Cove Oyster in Westport Island, further described the program’s role in supporting Maine’s working waterfront.

“Maine Sea Grant provides invaluable advice to small-scale operators,” Buchner said. “Last year, I participated in a free boot camp that helped me and 20 other students launch careers in the industry. We got guidance on critical issues launching our business with just a phone call or email — like oyster mortality and growing techniques.” 

Buchner aims to grow his aquaculture farm from 40,000 to 110,000 oysters this year but feels wary without the strong support system that he had before.

“There are over 600 small farms in Maine, like mine, that rely on Maine Sea Grant,” Buchner said. “No matter the size, they stand for us all.” 

Buchner has already contacted lawmakers to ask that they lobby and advocate for the program’s restoration of funding. 

“I understand government efficiency is an issue, but we should be more discerning,” Buchner said. “Programs that promote the working waterfront and small business should not be cut in my opinion.”

Mike Gaffney, owner of Eros Oysters, previously taught at Cornell University, New York state’s land-grant university, similar to the University of Maine.

To highlight the significance of this loss, he explained that extension services began in 1862 by creating a land-grant university system to benefit farmers. Maine Sea Grant, established in 1966, expanded these services to support marine food producers and sea farmers.

“The extension agent links the scientific community to food producers,” Gaffney said. “It makes research applicable to farmers and helps them improve their harvest. This approach has been effective in agriculture for over a century and has supported fisheries and aquaculture for the past 50 years.” 

In times of crisis, like significant die-offs or declining clam populations due to green crabs, Eros Oysters has sought help from Sea Grant agent Dana Morse and his colleagues at the Darling Marine Center and Downeast Institute.

“The program is an essential service,” Gaffney said. “It’s not just an add-on; it’s truly necessary. And perhaps more than other states, Maine relies on the marine component of the land grant extension service due to the importance of our fisheries.” 

Lawmakers step in

On March 1, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, posted on Facebook, drawing a connection between President Donald Trump’s recent spat with Maine Gov. Janet Mills over transgender athletes and the Maine Sea Grant shutdown.

“It seems pretty clear the President now has a personal vendetta against our state, and is willing to go to any length to settle the score — no matter how petty, and regardless of the toll,” Pingree wrote. “In making these cuts, the administration claimed that the work of Maine Sea Grant is ‘no longer relevant.’ This is not only insulting, but demonstrates an alarming lack of understanding of the essential role grants and scientific studies play in sustaining our fisheries and coastal economies.”

Of the 34 Sea Grant programs nationwide, Maine has been the only one to lose its funding — prompting her suggestion that the decision was made to punish the state.

The four-year agreement would have awarded the group $4.5 million in operating funds through Jan. 21, 2028, and nearly $1.5 million this year. 

On Tuesday, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Pingree co-signed a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik expressing their “outrage and deep disappointment.” 

Regardless of intention, Gaffney underscored the profound implications this move will have. 

“We rely on our seafood production,” Gaffney said. “Maine Sea Grant is a vital university extension service for fishermen and sea farmers. Eliminating it would have significant consequences on marine production.”

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