May 2, 2022 — Doug McLennan looks out his window in South Thomaston every morning at the traps and boats in his yard and worries about the future of lobster fishing in Maine.
McLennan’s wife, Laura, is his sternman. His two sons, who have homes on either side of his driveway, are lobster fishermen, too. His great-grandfather was the legendary “Tall Barney Beal” of Jonesport, a Grand Banks fisherman and the 6-foot-6 descendent of the original settler of Beals Island, known for his incredible strength.
McLennan isn’t worried about the state of the fishery. Despite a dip in landings last year, more than 100 million pounds of lobster were hauled and their value broke records. Also, Maine’s lobstermen have a reputation for sustainable practices that preserve the stock for future generations, he said.
What worries McLennan and thousands of other Maine lobstermen is the latest round of federal regulations designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, and additional measures being planned for the next decade. The newest regulations took effect Sunday, though their enforcement has been delayed until supply chain issues for some of the required gear are resolved.
This is just the latest in gear regulation change required by the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, which was put in place in 1997 and has been amended several times since. The current changes comprise the first phase of a 10-year conservation plan to reduce the risk of right whale entanglements in fishing gear by 98 percent.
Many lobstermen have raised concerns about safety and the potential for gear failure and loss of expensive traps under the new rules, and they worry about what is coming next.