Tag Archives: Maine lobster fishermen

Lobster industry groups mount uncertain First Circuit fight on fishery’s future

Arguing before a skeptical First Circuit, an attorney representing a group of Maine lobster fishermen said a federal rule designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale targets a portion of the ocean where there are no right whales. “We need to figure out where the whales are and target those areas,” said attorney Alfred Frawley IV at oral arguments Tuesday before the federal appeals court in Boston. But the First Circuit appeared to give Frawley a frosty reception, saying at one point that the record lacked evidence that the seasonal closure would lead to lost lobster boats and jobs across the coast of Maine. Judge Sandra Lynch asked Frawley if he had approached attorneys for the Marine Fisheries Service,,, Frawley began to make two points, but Lynch cut him off: “Will you answer my question rather than making a speech?” the Clinton appointee said. Frawley then said his clients were not allowed to sit on the take-reduction team. >click to read< 16:18

Another year of historic landings and improved value for Maine lobster announced

lobsterDM0811_468x521For the third year in a row and only the third time ever, Maine lobster fishermen landed more than 120 million pounds with a record overall value of $456,935,346, according to preliminary landings data reported today, Feb. 26, by the state Department of Marine Resources. At $3.69 per pound, the 123,676,100 pounds landed represented an improvement of 79 cents per pound over 2013, the largest one-year increase in per pound value since DMR and National Marine Fisheries Service began keeping records. Read the rest here  18:51

Maine women welcome a sea of opportunities

A blue lobster caught off Pine Point last month grabbed headlines for being a one in 2 million find. But the breed that appeared nearly as rare, in fact, was the person who caught it: a 14-year-old girl named Meghan LaPlante. Females make up a small minority of Maine lobster fishermen. Just 4 percent of the state’s 5,171 commercial lobster licenses are held by women, a number that has remained steady for about a decade,,, Read the rest here 09:47