December 14th, 2016 — The Department of Marine Resources has suspended for six years the licenses of two lobstermen who allegedly removed eggs from female lobsters.
Dexter Bray Jr., 36, of Stonington and Phillip Poland, 42, of Cushing also face a year in jail and fines of more than $1,000 if they are found guilty of the misdemeanor crimes, according to a release from Department of Marine Resources spokesman Jeff Nichols.
After an investigation prompted by an anonymous complaint received in the spring that Bray was “scrubbing” lobsters — artificially removing eggs from the underside of a female lobster’s tail — he was charged with removing the eggs of two female lobsters.
Investigators determined that Bray had attempted to sell two egg-bearing female lobsters at a lobster co-op in Stonington, according to the release.
The Marine Patrol also received an anonymous complaint about Poland, which spurred an investigation that allegedly revealed Poland had “scrubbed” the eggs from three lobsters.
“Scrubbing lobsters is one of the most serious violations of marine resource laws we see,” Maine Marine Patrol Col. Jon Cornish said in the release. “By removing eggs to make a short-term monetary gain, criminals deny future generations of fishermen the opportunity those eggs represent. Just as important, they undermine the work law abiding harvesters do every day to sustain this important resource.”