Jack Merrill steps down from lobster board after 40 years

March 31, 2025 New England

After roughly 40 years, Jack Merrill has stepped down from his seat on the Board of Directors of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), where he has spent the last several decades representing the lobstering community of Little Cranberry Island. The MLA, which according to its website is the oldest fishing industry association on the East Coast, “advocates for a sustainable lobster resource and the fishermen and communities that depend on it.” The decision to leave his post with the MLA was one Merrill had been contemplating for some time. “It is quite a time commitment,” he said, “But well worth it.” But before leaving, he wanted to make sure there would still be a voice on the board for the Little Cranberry lobstering community. “I wanted the island to still have representation,” he said, adding that a younger perspective will be a valuable addition to the board. He found that in Richard Howland of Islesford, who was elected to the board to take Merrill’s place. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:36

Edward Arthur Blackmore, 92, passed away on December 23, 2019, in Stonington, the town that he loved.December 24, 2019In "New England"

Jack Merrill, poet, painter… and lobstermanDecember 12, 2023In "New England"

Maine Lobstermen Say They Aren’t Harming Threatened Coral BedsMay 26, 2017In "New England"

from Board of Directors, has stepped down, Jack Merrill, Little Cranberry Island, Lobsterman, lobsterman Jack Merrill, maine, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, MLA, Richard Howland of Islesford, to take Merrill’s place

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The New England groundfish debacle (Part III): who or what is at fault? Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet

It took me a while to decide how to most accurately describe the situation that has been visited upon the New England fishing communities that are and since colonial times have been dependent on the groundfish fisheries.

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

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