Tag Archives: speak out

Maine Lobstermen speak out about economic and regulatory struggles

“We get told what we’re going to get paid for the product, and we get told what we’re going to be charged for the bait. We’re the ones providing, and it seems as though we’re also getting the short end of the stick,” said commercial lobsterman Dwight Staples. With rising inflation, fisherman say they’ve been hit hard. “For me personally, it was like $800 a day just to go fishing — and that was on like a three dollar lobster. So you’ve got to go, and you’ve got to catch over 250 pounds before you even break expense,” said Staples. In addition to the rising costs of running a lobster fishing business, lobstermen say that fishing regulations have made it more difficult to turn a profit, even when reeling in a good haul.  Video, >click to read< 09:07

Lobstermen speak out against proposal to have Maine’s entire fleet report data

Maine doesn’t require all of its lobstermen to share their fishing data, and they say reporting even 10 percent of the country’s largest lobster fishery is enough to give state and federal regulators statistically valid data. That’s the argument advanced by lobstermen, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the state Department of Marine Resources against a proposal for 100 percent reporting, at a hearing held Wednesday by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. >click here to read< 11:09