December 10, 2021 — The battle over new federal restrictions designed to save the endangered North Atlantic right whale is far from settled.
It has been just over a week since at least 150 lobstermen had to get their traps out of a nearly 1,000-square-mile swath of the Gulf of Maine following a judge’s order.
“It’s too bad that Maine fishermen are really getting a bad rap,” Larabee said. “They’re all stressed. They’ve been pushed back. Where do you go?”
On this day, he and his two-man crew are fishing just outside of LMA 1, the zone now closed to fishing from October 18 through January 31 each year.
Some, including the state’s lobster unions, have claimed the closure by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration falls during the peak fishing season.
According to data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, lobstermen statewide hauled most consistently from July-October last year. They brought in a whopping 20 million pounds in October at peak, before numbers steadily fell back down through January.
DMR officials estimate the closure will have a $2 to $4 million impact on fishermen alone.