Tag Archives: Kittery

Maine’s oldest town, Kittery, rallying around state’s lobster industry

As Maine’s iconic lobster industry faces challenges to its very survival, the state’s oldest town is rallying behind the men and women fighting for their livelihood. Recent efforts by the state’s small but formidable congressional delegation and Gov. Janet Mills resulted in a six-year hold on new rules to allow time for new research to be considered. “This is one of the most perilous moments ever faced by Maine’s lobster industry,” Kevin Kelley of the Maine Lobsterman’s Association said recently, “but the six-year regulatory pause gives the industry a little bit of time and some hope that whatever rules are implemented by the federal government make sense.” >click to read< 12:19

Kittery woman, owner of Southern Maine Crabs, creates seafood niche

Twenty-three-year-old Jillian Robillard is the owner and founder of Southern Maine Crabs, a processing facility based out of Kittery that specializes in Jonah crabs and lobsters. Growing up on the docks, Robillard noticed lobster fishermen were catching crabs in their lobster traps and throwing them back or crushing them up for bait. When Robillard noticed the price of lobsters increased and the crab prices remained the same, she saw an opportunity in the market. photos, >click to read< 13:27

Getting a jump start on a lobstering career with the Maine student apprenticeship program, getting started as young as 8!

Zac has always been attracted to the open water and salty air and last year he started apprenticing under commercial lobsterman Eddie Foye, who is a distant cousin Zac had never met. Eddie has been lobstering for three decades at the Isle of Shoals and has mentored his three children including his 17-year-old daughter Raegan Foye. This past summer Zac completed the 1,000 hours of lobstering with a mentor, a requirement under the student apprenticeship program in the state of Maine that guarantees kids can get a commercial lobster license when they turn 18 if all the requirements are met. >video, click to read< 21:06