The Right Whale Controversy...or- The Death of the Lobstering Industry... (Gray: to buy, living)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Duplicated

[dmyankee]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Maine used to have a law that hotels could not feed their employees lobster more than 3 days a week. It wasn't that the government wanted to save lobsters for the tourists. The help was sick and tired of eating lobsters.

LOL!

In colonial days, when the lobsters used to wash up on shore. they would feed 'em to the swine.

[moughie]

deerislesmile-

I am moved by your love for your community!
And I can tell this whole issue is just tearing you apart.

Anything any of us can do to help? Write letters to someone???
Please let me ( us) know.

[starwalker]

according to a story in the Bangor Daily News (online) today, the order was rescinded.

Is this just "round one?" or will this be revisited every time someone thinks they have seen a whale heading towards ME?

[mollysmiles]

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) can do this every time they think a whale has been spotted in the fishing areas.....

and the problem with the rope having to be changed before October 2008 is still an issue for them

[Submariner]

Ocean water is very bad for most types of rope. I would think that at least 10% of all lines must be replaced each year anyway.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

If a lobsterman has 800 traps we are looking at about 2.2 miles of rope if he's an inshore fisherman. It is much more if he fishes deep water.

"Is this just "round one?" or will this be revisited "

This about Round 7 in the assault on our fishing industry. The environmental industry is attacking our fishermen, farmers and loggers. They don't give up. If you sit down and negotiate with a few environmental groups and reach an agreement it is just a starting point for the next batch of environmental groups. You can't satisfy them. There is no end to it. When sitting down at a table with them, ask them what they bring to the table to give up. They don't ever give anything up. It the Mainer who loses each and every time.

[DavidoftheNorth]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

nmlm, when I was in high school and college I waitressed summers in a very nice restaurant in Eastport....I never ate a lobster the entire time....just got so icky with the smell....even now, they aren't my first choice---I'm a scallop girl I can totally relate to that....

This is not an appetizing observation, designed for distribution by the Maine Propaganda Bureau, but,...did you know that lobsters (and crabs) are considered bugs? Remember that next time you tie your bib on! Lobsters are members of the phylum Arthropoda, and I won't persist with further detail. (Next time you feel the urge to be critical of Asians for some of the disgusting things they eat, think again.) One thing's for sure though - lobsters taste damn good. But I'm with Molly - I prefer scallops. DeerIslesmile - I don't mean any offense, and as an inland hick, I totally appreciate your concern and anguish. Up here in inland hick-Maine, i.e. northeast of the Volvo Line, we've pretty much lost our economy, forest industries and agriculture, over the last hundred years, and really don't have alot to replace it, except your basic burger-flippin type activities. It just kinda "slip slided away". Our challenge, as fellow hicks, I think, is to keep one eye on the future and try to avoid getting so set in our ways that we are unable to evolve our economy with often unfairly changing times. Have a good day everybody!

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

... When sitting down at a table with them, ask them what they bring to the table to give up. They don't ever give anything up. It the Mainer who loses each and every time.

We attended an open house last year in Bangor, a couple senators were present, various state bureaucrats, etc. And a large crowd.

It was Mainers who were arguing, testifying, and presenting arguments against farming methods. Specifically crop-dusting over blueberries and woodlands. Herbicide use, pesticide use, and fertilizer use.

Maybe a tenth of the crowd was farmers or forestry, they took turns explaining what precautions they use, when they spray, the neighborhood notifications they hand-out to notify everyone living in the proximity to a spray area.

The majority of the crowd gave very emotional cries to stop all farming and forestry. They argued that much of their ailments stem from herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers. They argued for the beaver, for the eagle, and for all wildlife and their collective rights to live happy and healthy lives.

It was a three day open-house, we only attended the first evening. The farmers and foresters were far out-numbered and out-gunned.

As far as I could tell everyone there were all Mainers.

[DavidoftheNorth]

Originally Posted by starwalker

according to a story in the Bangor Daily News (online) today, the order was rescinded.

Is this just "round one?" or will this be revisited every time someone thinks they have seen a whale heading towards ME?

Is it time to mount a whale shooting expedition?