This is the first in a series on fisheries regulation in Maine. But the fishermen themselves believe they have no say in those decisions. It just doesn t do any good.
Offshore lobstermen empty a trap.
Almost synonymous with the Maine coast in the minds of many, lobstermen are among the fishermen fighting for their financial lives as one rule-change after another comes down the pike. There s a lot at stake. Two-thirds of Maine s elver fishermen lost their livelihood a year ago when the Legislature cut licenses from 2,500 to 800. Lobstermen are afraid they will lose the bait they depend on if federal authorities do not rein in herring fishing by big boats Downeast. Fishermen who did not show enough landings a few years ago will never again be able to go after groundfish in federal waters.