BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 22, 2023
No right whale death has ever been attributed to Maine lobster gear. Despite never having seen one in the 50 years I’ve fished; I’ve made multiple changes to make my gear more whale friendly. These changes have been time-consuming, expensive, and potentially dangerous but resulted in less rope in the water. Even the biggest proponents of ropeless traps realize it’s probably a decade away from being feasible. Recalibrating ropeless traps under often difficult weather conditions, including fog, would be close to impossible. And, if one relies on cell phone service to activate ropeless traps, it poses a problem since service on the water is full of dead zones. Right whales face much more dangerous threats than Maine lobster gear. Increased shipping traffic, natural predation, toxic chemicals, other forms of pollution, dwindling food supplies due to global warming, and industrialization of the ocean (including wind turbines) all have negative impacts. ~ Jack Merrill, Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-Op