Tag Archives: F/V Thrasher

‘I’m not a quitter’: lobstermen turn to kelp farming in the face of climate crisis

Back from a day of scalloping, lobsterman Bob Baines has docked his boat, the FV Thrasher, at the Spruce Head Fishermans Co-op. His sternman, David McLellan, clad in waterproof overalls like Baines, shucks the last few hauls, tossing the meats into a bucket and the shells overboard. It’s the last week of scallop season, but there is a new venture on the horizon. Baines, 64, steers the Thrasher back out toward Hewett Island on Penobscot Bay to check on the underwater kelp farm that he “planted” in December. It’s a willowy structure made up of moorings, buoys and ropes that hovers 7ft underwater and spans 1,000ft wide, like a monster cat’s cradle. Baines is among the latest of 19 veteran lobstermen along the Maine coast who are applying their hard-earned expertise to kelp farming. >click to read< 12:46

Two injured in lobster boat collision near Owls Head

IMG_7989[1].JPGTwo people were injured when lobster boats collided Monday morning off the Muscle Ridge Islands near Owls Head and South Thomaston. The two were taken Pen Bay Medical Center with injuries not considered life-threatening after the Thrasher struck the Centerfold about 8:30 a.m., according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Meghan Canoon. The two 42-foot vessels were hauling traps in the fog, she said. One person on each boat was hurt. The Coast Guard has not released the names of the injured, but Centerfold owner Cyrus Sleeper said he was taken to the hospital to be checked. He said he suffered some bruises. He added that two other crew members on his vessel were not injured. Read the rest here  19:46