Tag Archives: Maine House of Representatives

$30 million relief fund for lobstermen gets initial nod in Maine House

Starting on May 1, lobstermen in Maine will have to begin using weaker rope or special links on traplines that are designed to allow a whale to break free from fishing gear. The new federal regulations are aimed at preventing endangered North Atlantic right whales from potentially deadly entanglements. Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, a fisherman from Winter Harbor in Hancock County, said the proposed $30 million fund from the state will help mitigate the costs for an iconic industry that generates more than $1 billion for the state. “We are going to be hurting for the money to comply with those rope regulations,” >click to read< 13:37

Lobsterman Jason Joyce announces candidacy for House District 15

Jason Joyce, an eighth generation Swan’s Island lobsterman, has announced he is running for District 15 in the Maine House of Representatives. “I am passionate about defending our sustainable coastal fisheries and the marine ecosystem for our grandchildren and their children,” he said. “Standing against international offshore windfarm developments as they attempt to industrialize the Gulf of Maine is a big part of that fight. While defending Maine’s commercial fishermen is an issue of priority in our district, there are many other issues facing all of our communities that continue to threaten our way of life and traditions.” >click to read< 07:41 politics

Maine: Abden Simmons running for Senate District 13

Abden Simmons will be seeking the Maine Senate District 13 seat. Simmons has been a shellfish harvester for three decades and has operated A&A Shellfish, a buying station for clams, for twenty-five years. He is also an elver fisherman and spent more than 20 years inshore fishing and working as a sternman.  In 2016, his community elected Simmons to serve the people of Friendship, Waldoboro, Washington, and part of Union in the Maine House of Representatives. While in the House he served as a member of the Marine Resources Committee. >click to read< 18:37

Rep. Genevieve McDonald seeks re-election to House District 134

Representative Genevieve McDonald, D-Stonington, has announced her re-election campaign as a candidate for the Maine House of Representatives for District 134. “It has been my honor to serve this district and I hope to continue working for the people as their representative in Augusta,” she said in a news release. McDonald is a commercial lobsterman and serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, according to a press release. more, >click to read< 08:25

Maine is running out of lobster bait. Is salmon the answer?

Genevieve McDonald fishes out of Maine’s largest lobster port aboard the F/V Hello Darlings II. Last November, she became Maine’s first female commercial fisherman (“fisherman” and “lobsterman” are the strongly preferred terms for both women and men in the industry, she says) elected to the Maine House of Representatives, representing a district that includes Maine’s two biggest lobster ports. Not surprisingly, McDonald ran on a platform many in the fishing industry support. But above all else, one issue stood out. “Our biggest issue is the bait crisis,” she said in November,,, >click to read<11:51