PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 2, 2026
Commercial fishing in Maine is breaking the people who sustain it. Four out of five fishermen report overuse injuries — torn shoulders, damaged knees, chronic back pain — from work that hasn’t fundamentally changed in generations. Most don’t retire from the job. Their bodies give out first. We know how to reduce that damage. What’s missing is consistent federal support. This isn’t an abstract policy debate — it’s being decided right now in the federal budget process. Programs like Sea Grant do more than fund research. They support the training, safety systems and local partnerships that keep fishermen on the water longer and in better health. Fishing communities cannot rebuild their workforce or protect their health one budget fight at a time. If Maine wants a future on the water, Congress needs to fund it — deliberately and as policy. ~ Chris Payne, Cumberland, graduate student, University of New England