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NOAA report finds Gulf of Maine warming slowed for now, but ecosystem remains unstable

Maine’s fishing ports are doing well for now, but climate change is destabilizing the Gulf of Maine, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest “State of the Ecosystem” report for New England waters. Federal scientists presented the report to the New England Fishery Management Council in April, and published it online last week.

They found that some Maine fishing ports are growing busier, likely driven by the high price of lobster. Stonington, Harpswell and Friendship all see more activity now than they did roughly 20 years ago.

And 2025, like 2024, offered slightly cooler water temperatures after more than a decade of rapid and record-breaking warming in the Gulf of Maine. But the scientists predict that  temperatures will warm again this fall, and will continue to rise long-term as the burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

To weather these ongoing changes, fishermen and their communities need to diversify their businesses, experts say.

Earlier this week, Maine Public’s Molly Enking covered another important aspect of climate change in the ocean: sea level rise.

This is an especially pressing problem for the Camp Ellis beach community in Saco, which has already lost houses, roads and much of the beach to a combination of the rising sea, storms, a loss of sediment supply and erosion.

The city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now planning to build a new jetty that’s intended to buy time while they and the community decide what to do long-term.

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