Tag Archives: trickle-down shadow economy
The ‘lobster capital of the world’ faces a crucial question
When Deer Isle lobsterman Jeff Eaton peers into one of his traps, he sees a lot more than snappers and selects, hard-shells and shedders. The part-time boat builder and avid lobster boat racer sees the heart of a $126 million regional economy that supports an even larger network of trap makers, bait dealers, marine supply shopkeepers and boat builders like himself. That trickle-down shadow economy has transformed the island, which used to be known best for the granite quarries that built New York and Washington, D.C.’s most iconic buildings, into a thriving lobster economy, now best known as the home to a 300-boat lobster fleet and the town of Stonington, the self-proclaimed lobster capital of the world. “Up here, the lobster business trickles down a lot further than just us fishermen,” Eaton said. “It feeds the whole economy.” Read the story here and view 15 images 08:13
