In its own way, it had the feel of a chamber orchestra tuning up.
Last cigarettes were lit, smoked and flicked away.
And with that, we were off to the grounds.
Daniel Alexander Orr
He has worked the waters just inside Monhegan Island since he was a child.
To say that these men love lobstering makes it seem a little too pat.
Lobstering is the clock around which they organize their lives.
Nico Schinco
But the impact for Dustin Delano and the crew of theKnotty Ladyis crystal clear.
Both measures have worked spectacularly.
Soon millions of lobsters were being whisked away every year.
Daniel Alexander Orr
Then something unexpected happened.
Mainers realized they risked losing everything before they actually lost it.
In 1872, a law was passed that forbade lobstermen from keeping egg-bearing females.
Daniel Alexander Orr
Two years later, a second law prevented fishermen from keeping lobsters smaller than 1012 inches.
No one will ever have to feel disturbed about the depletion of the lobsters on the Maine coast."
This pledge has come true.
Daniel Alexander Orr
With that explosive success, Americans have embraced Maine’s lobster with ever-greater frequency in their kitchens and restaurants.
I touch them all day, yuck."
Soon, the little lobsterman chamber orchestra hit its rhythmic stride.
From haul to reset, the whole thing took 15 seconds.
But all of them, unlike industrial fleets in other fisheries, were owner-operated.
Maine’s unique compromise with the sea forbids absentee ownership of a lobster boat.
This has created a diverse flotilla comprised of 3,670 captains and 5,570 crew members.
Over time, many of these student lobstermen ascend to captainship, a career well worth pursuing.
In all, the Maine lobster boats bring in $500 million a year in gross sales.
In the context of the state’s coastal economy, the crustacean looms even larger.
It’s exactly this system that the coming whale regulations threaten.
“I don’t know,” he answered curtly.
“Do you?”
But the good news didn’t last.
In 2010, the population started to drop, down to an estimated 336 in 2020.
By some estimates, zero could be 20 years from now.
Mayo and his team have done it all with regards to right whales.
Using these spots, census takers can tell a whale named Cassiopeia from another called Infinity.
They also can tell which ones are in trouble.
“Right now, we know that a female whale named Snow Cone is entangled,” Mayo said.
Stormy mayo, Ph.D.
“The numbers on survival aren’t good.
And if we lose a female, that’s doubly bad.”
But Mayo quickly debunks that idea.
“We find them on the surface but when they dive, they go down for 20 minutes.
You have to get the knives in the right place.
It’s not an easy task.”
And yet, looking to fix the problem by curtailing Maine lobstering isn’t necessarily supported by the data.
Mayo himself acknowledges that the entangling gear is generally “of unknown origin.”
Moreover, around half of the whales that are killed annually don’t die as a result of fishing.
Last year, a calf was found dead along the Florida coast bearing injuries of a vessel strike.
The mother was sighted a few days later bearing new injuries as well as scars from previous collisions.
“We haven’t been below one in 20 years,” he lamented.
With such a narrow margin for error, theoretically speaking, not even potential risk can be tolerated.
For lobstermen, though, there is nothing theoretical about the risk to their livelihood.
Indeed, right whale closures have already severely impacted fishermen in Massachusetts.
But gradually he’s seen that it might be workable.
“There are pros and cons,” he said.
On the other hand, he can actually keep an eye on his gear without leaving his desk.
“Eventually you’ve got to do the change,” Martin said.
“Years ago, we fished with wooden traps.
Everyone thought metal traps were crazy.
Back in the day, we called a fiberglass boat a Clorox bottle.
Now that’s all standard stuff.
It’s just progression.
It’s the future.”
Enter Green Energy
In fish fights, opposing sides tend to line up in predictable ways.
Environmental organizations have taken a decidedly pro-whale position, while the lobstermen maintain their right to fish.
The Maine story, though, shows points of collaboration.
Currently, Maine uses more fossil fuels for energy than any other New England state.
Where and how Maine would site farms to exploit this potential is an open question.
Other states, meanwhile, are rushing ahead.
Potential income from offshore lease sales will dwarf any income from fisheries.
TheInternational Energy Agencyhas predicted that global offshore wind will be a trillion-dollar business by 2040.
In the U.S. it’s projected to be a $25 billion industry by 2030.
The Block Island array looked innocuous enough, its five windmills turning slowly in a moderate breeze.
On his sonar, Safina located a rocky bit of bottom for us to fish.
Theoretically, it might be possible to troll around the turbines and reap the rewards.
I’ve known Safina for years and am a writer-in-residence with theSafina Center.
“It used to be the wide horizon and the wild ocean,” he told me.
“Now it’s becoming another industrial site.
The windmills are visible from 20 miles down the beach.
The gloves are off,” she said.
During hot summer months, fish use this area as a thermal refuge.
This kind of reasoning doesn’t necessarily hold water with Maine fishermen.
A Murky Future
Lobstering in Maine generally comes to its close around mid-day.
On the particular autumn afternoon I visited, the high sun brought with it 80-degree weather.
Rising temperatures in the Gulf of Maine may already be inexorable.
This crew of hardworking fishermen were most definitely not climate change deniers.
“Put it out at sea, where nobody else but us can see it.”
Evan Malletis the chef and co-owner ofBlack Trumpetin Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
