Tag Archives: Julie Eaton
Challenges abound, but lobstermen say they’re in it for the long haul
Around 2 a.m. each morning, a parade of trucks from around the region begins the journey down to the Stonington docks, marking the start of another day of lobstering in Maine. In short, a large part of coastal Hancock County and beyond depend on lobster. One of the locals that has made her living off lobster is Julie Eaton, a member of Stonington’s 300-plus lobster boat fleet. She’s been at it for 39 years now and to her it’s not just a job, it’s a way of life. Every fisherman has their own story, but almost all of them say they got into the business because they love working on the ocean. 
For the hundreds of lobstermen in the region, things are going pretty well at the moment, even with the pandemic. While things are going well, if you talk to almost any Downeast lobstermen about the future of their industry, the conversation will come to two things: right whales and wind turbines. >click to read< 13:28
Lobstermen gather for foggy farewell to Andrew Gove
Dozens of lobster boats gathered off Greenhead on foggy Deer Island Thorofare Sunday morning to remember and pay tribute to “Uncle” Andrew Gove. A fisherman for 82 years, Gove retired from the sea last year at the age of 89 and died late last month at the age of 90. The fog was so thick Sunday morning that it was hard to tell exactly how many boats took part in the tribute, but one estimate was that as many as 50 were on hand. In addition to boats from Stonington, boats came from nearby harbors on the Blue Hill Peninsula and from as far away as Searsport, Vinalhaven and North Haven, home to many of Gove’s relatives. >click to read< 17:44
PHOTO GALLERY: Paying tribute to Andy Gove – >click for photo’s<
Fishing community plans tribute to “Uncle” Andy Gove
Andrew Gove began lobstering in the waters around Deer Isle as a boy of 7, fishing with his grandfather off Eagle Island in Penobscot Bay. Last year, at the age of 89, the lobsterman universally known as “Uncle” hauled his gear for the last time and retired to his home on Stonington Harbor with his wife of 73 years, Rose. Gove died late last month and now the lobster fishing community is planning a tribute to the man who was a respected patriarch of the lobster fishing industry. Plans call for a fleet of boats to gather off Greenhead at the western end of the Deer Island Thorofare at noon on Sunday, July 12,,, >click to read< 18:15
Island Democrats to help pick House nominee – Both women are lobster boat captains
There are few contested primaries on the ballot this year but one is the Democratic nomination to represent the House district that includes Vinalhaven and North Haven. Incumbent State Rep. Genevieve McDonald of Stonington is being challenged in the July 14 primary election by Julie Eaton of Deer Isle. Both women are lobster boat captains. McDonald is serving her first two-year term in the House, being elected in 2018.,, Eaton was born in Ellsworth, grew up in Surry, is a lobster boat captain starting her 35th season working on the water. >click to read< 08:20
Maine lobstermen tell federal regulators: We’re not killing the whales
The Maine Lobstering Union accuses the agency of caving to environmental organizations when it should be defending the industry. Kristan Porter, a Cutler lobsterman who heads up the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said the modeling tool the agency had come up with to determine risk had been sharply criticized by a team of independent scientists during a peer review conducted late last year. Stonington lobsterman Julie Eaton urged regulators to stop playing dangerous games with fishermen’s lives and livelihoods. We don’t want to see any animal go extinct, but blaming us for the right whale’s decline is like blaming Mexico for the plight of the polar bear, she said. >click to read< 09:47
Maine’s lobster industry needs your help
A little over a week ago, we saw more than a thousand lobstermen flood the Stonington commercial pier. Almost the entire Maine delegation attended in person to demonstrate its support for lobstermen who are being unfairly targeted around the issue of right whale entanglement. Also speaking and demonstrating their support were Maine Governor Janet Mills, State Senate President Troy Jackson and several other state elected officials. by Julie Eaton >click to read< 12:10
Lobstermen from Machias to Boothbay Harbor hold rally in Stonington about federal moves to limit trap lines
Lobstermen gathered on the Stonington Commercial Fish Pier to draw greater attention to the issues facing the survival of their industry and the livelihoods of coastal Maine communities. Julie Eaton, who fishes for lobster, said at the outset of the rally: “NOAA [The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] knows that not one Right Whale has been proven to have been entangled in Maine rope in many years and the new proposed regulations would only cause extreme danger to our lobstermen. >click to read< 09:56
Deer Isle lobstermen offer whale rule alternative
For Maine lobstermen, 2019 is likely to bring a summer of discontent. Fuel prices are high. Cuts in herring fishing quotas — with further cuts likely — mean that bait is likely to be extremely scarce, and whatever’s available extremely expensive as the season develops. And that’s the good news. What really has lobstermen worked up is the demand by federal regulators that they reduce the risk of death or injury to endangered right whales in the Gulf of Maine by 60 percent.,, Deer Isle lobsterman Julie Eaton had a number of suggestions for DMR,, “Was any thought given to the glut of gear that’s going to develop and to the safety of the fishermen?” >click to read<11:29
