Tag Archives: Maine lobster gear

Maine: Lobstermen support better science to help right whales

The historical record of Maine lobstermen is clear.One right whale entangled in 2004 was disentangled and swam free. No right whale death has ever been attributed to Maine lobster gear. Gov. Janet Mills and our congressional delegation, without partisanship, acknowledge Maine lobstermen are not a threat to the right whale population. Despite never having seen one in the 50 years I’ve fished; I’ve made multiple changes to make my gear more whale friendly. These changes have been time-consuming, expensive, and potentially dangerous to me and my crew but resulted in less rope in the water. >click to read< 11:52

Maine lobsterman blasts Whole Foods over lobster ban

A Maine fisherman slammed Whole Foods’ decision to stop selling Maine lobsters in its stores on Monday, calling on the grocery chain executives to do their “homework” before writing off the livelihoods of hundreds of lobstermen. In an appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime” Monday, Maine lobsterman Jason Lorde denounced the decision, arguing that no right whale has died due to Maine lobster gear and that the fishing community in the state has long complied with laws and regulations to protect right whales. “I think Whole Foods maybe should have done a little more homework,” Lorde said. “We have been in business for over 150 years, and we have done our due diligence. We were conservationists before conservationists was cool. I’m sorry they felt they had to jump on the bandwagon with all the rest of the West Coasters.” Video, >click to read< 10:22

Evidence shows Maine lobster gear has not contributed to decline in Right whale population

In today’s world, it is hard to discern truth from opinion, or fact from calculated lies.,, The fact is also that no documented right whale death has ever been attributed to Maine lobstermen. There has only been one known entanglement in the past 20 years (2012). That whale was disentangled and set free.,,, The combination of ship strikes and snow crab gear entanglement was catastrophic, but had nothing to do with Maine lobster gear. The “guilt by association” assumption by environmental groups and NOAA/NMFS is unwarranted and unacceptable. By Jack Merrill. >click to read< 07:55