Tag Archives: Maine lobstermen’s union
Maine lobstermen say electronic trackers required by federal regulators violate privacy
Some Maine lobstermen say that new electronic monitoring requirements are violating their constitutional right to privacy. As of Dec. 15, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requires that lobstermen with federal permits install a monitor tracking their boat’s location each minute that it’s moving. But the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation — a nonprofit arm of the Maine Lobstering Union — is now asking the state to delay the requirements until the next fishing season. The foundation outlined its concerns in a letter sent to the Maine Department of Marine Resources earlier this month. more>>click to read<< 09:03
Fishing foundation pushes back against electronic tracking
Three days before a federal electronic tracking requirement took effect for all lobster boats fishing in federal waters, the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation (SMFF), a nonprofit that shares headquarters on Bar Harbor Road with the Maine Lobstermen’s Union and Lobster 207, sent a letter through its attorneys to Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The Dec. 15 deadline to start using electronic “black box” tracking devices has come and gone, but the Foundation is busy raising funds for legal expenses, raising more than $46,000 in its first week toward a goal of $250,000. more, >>click to read<< 10:39
Controversial bill allowing secret tracking devices on lobster boats wins Maine Senate approval
A compromise has been reached over a controversial bill that would allow the Department of Marine Resources to secretly place tracking devices on lobster boats. The measure is aimed at cracking down on violators of lobstering laws. The Maine Lobstermen’s Union had been strongly opposed to the bill, saying it gave the commissioner too much authority by allowing him to covertly track boats. But after a discussion with the commissioner this morning the union now backs the bill. “So we have a lot more people fishing offshore, much more difficult to catch violators offshore,” said Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. McCarron said if allowing investigators to covertly place tracking devices on boats of suspected cheaters leads to more arrests, the industry will be better off. Video, click here to read the story 11:30
Maine Lobstermen Support GPS Tracking of Lawbreakers Fishing Vessels – Lobstermen from Swans Island are fed up with the bad behavior of fellow fishermen who violate regulations within the states most valuable fishery. Video, click here to read the story 12:02
Three Maine Lobsterman Organizations weigh in on Cashes Ledge Monument Proposal
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Downeast Lobstermen’s Association and 
are weighing in, along with groups from other states, on the new National Marine Monument proposed for Cashes Ledge and the New England Canyons in the Gulf of Maine. “To unilaterally allow such a designation would usurp the established habitat and fisheries management public process and could be economically catastrophic not only to the commercial and charter fishermen but also to hundreds of small coastal communities in New England,” Read the rest here 11:18:08
A Maine lobstermen union?
Maine lobstermen may not initially strike you as the type of workers who would join a union. Yet as of this past fall, approximately 600 lobstermen from up and down the coast had done just that. Why would lobstermen join a union, and what does this say about the state of organized labor in today’s economy? Read more here blr.com 15:12
New York Times picks up the Maine Lobstermen’s Union story, but is it legit?
An existing group, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, earlier this year published an op-ed and created a short-lived Web site questioning the need for a union.“To me, it undermines the very strength of the industry,” said Patrice McCarron, the executive director of the association, which counts more than 1,000 lobstermen as members and has an additional 125 members from other parts of the industry. “To put lobstermen in the role of a laborer, rather than a business owner, I don’t think is a healthy way to characterize this fleet of lobstermen.” more@NYT 11:43
Breakfast welcomes Maine’s new lobstermen’s union
The state’s newest labor union was celebrated Monday during the Southern Maine Labor Council’s annual Labor Day breakfast at the Irish Heritage Center. Rock Alley of Jonesport, president of the new Maine Lobstermen’s Union, said he was overwhelmed by the support lobster fishermen across the state have received as they pushed forward their grassroots effort to organize.more@portlandpress 10:26
The real promise of a new Maine lobstermen’s union
It takes some research and math to show that the real earnings of the average lobsterman have stayed almost flat for 30 years. continued
