BS: Lobster War!

Subject: BS: Lobster War!
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 12:25 PM

Lobster Boats Intentionally Sunk In Owls Head
2 Maine Lobster Boats Sunk, Third Partially Submerged

POSTED: 11:23 am EDT August 5, 2009
UPDATED: 8:08 am EDT August 6, 2009

OWLS HEAD, Maine -- Tension between Maine lobstermen is reaching a boiling point. Someone tried to sink three lobster boats in Owls Head, authorities said Wednesday morning.

Marine officials in Owls Head said lobstermen arriving to pull traps Wednesday morning found two boats sunk. A third was partially sunk in Owls Head harbor. All boats were tied up and officials are trying to figure out who is responsible.

Keith Simmonds had planned to meet an insurance agent Wednesday to get a policy on his boat, but he instead found it under water with its intakes lines cut.

A deputy with the Knox County Sheriff's Department said water lines were cut to the boats, causing them to sink.

Lobsterman Keith Simmonds, whose boat was under water, says he's more determined now than ever to continue as a lobsterman.

Simmonds, who owns the boat First Light, told News 8's Keith Baldi that he believes the sinking of his boat stems from an ongoing feud with another fishing family in the area.

Many said they know who was responsible. Simmonds said a family feuding over territory for years is unhappy that their unwritten rules on where lobstermen drop their traps were broken. He said if someone feels another lobsterman is doing business in an area where they shouldn't, they retaliate.

Simmonds said lines to traps are usually the course of action, not as severe as sinking boats.

"If it hurts bad enough, you get out of it," Simmonds said.

An official with the United States Coast Guard said there was no environmental damage from the sinkings.

Sunken lobster boats are tied up as officials investigate who is responsible.

The sinking marked the second incident involving mid-coast lobstermen in the past couple of weeks. On July 20, police said Vance Bunker shot Chris Young in the neck on Matinicus Island. Bunker was charged with elevated aggravated assault. Last week, two civil lawsuits were filed against Bunker in connection with the shooting.

"That incident a few weeks ago was to the extreme. This is thousands of dollars worth of damage," said Knox County sheriff's Deputy Tim Carroll. "We're talking about people's livelihoods."

The next day, the state closed the area to lobster and crab fishing for two weeks, but the closure was reduced to four days.

Though investigators said they don't believe the two incidents are related, some worry for their safety.

"I think it worries everybody. As a family, wondering, is this person that did something here going to come at the homes and bother us at home or what?" said Debbie Damon, whose brother's boat sunk.

Simmonds said he's more determined ever now to continue as a lobsterman. Others said there's more tension than ever because the number of fishermen and lobstermen doubled within 15 years.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 04:47 PM

Your point, precisely?

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: kendall
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 04:59 PM

Lobster feuds are not new. Sinking boats is, and whoever did it is running the risk of getting shot.
Business is very bad for the fishermen right now and this could set off an all out war.

They were feuding when I joined the Maine Coastal Warden service in 1958. Some things never change.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: gnu
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 05:01 PM

Them thayah Maineiacs is sayhrious abouhht theyah lohbstahs. What paht of the univahse do yah come from? I could give yah directions on how tah get where I figure ya oughgta go, but I am supposin yah already know the way thayah.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: gnu
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 05:05 PM

My apologies to all Maineiacs for my poor attempt at a Maine accent. But, I hope it was in keeping with the Maine spirit.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: kendall
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 07:05 PM

Ayah, yes siiiiir (whistle through dentures)

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: heric
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 07:20 PM

Hopefully things will change with future generations

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: Charley Noble
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 09:28 PM

It's really not a very funny story at all.

Lobstermen get very protective of their "territory" here in Maine, and even more protective when there are hard economic times. Lobstermen have been landing record hauls of lobsters the last few years but the recession has cut deeply into demand and the wholesale price is way down. To their credit the Maine lobstermen do the best job of conserving the breeding stock on the East Coast, there being an upper size limit to what they can keep for sale. The demise of the fisheries has also added to sustaining the lobster population, as less young and tender lobsters are lost to predators. Newcomers are generally not welcome. My brother and I who were born and raised in Maine were perplexed that our paltry dozen traps were frequently vandalized by the resident lobstermen, but our parents were from away!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: SINSULL
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 09:38 PM

I too question why post the thread and not a link with your comment. If you think this is funny, Bruce, keep in mind that one man is dead, three are deprived of the source of their livelihood and most lobstermen are in serious trouble. Lobster is selling for as low as $2.69/pound for ANY SIZE. $4.99/lb for chicks has, up to now, been an incredible bargain.
Sorry but I see no humor in this.
Mary

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: Riginslinger
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 09:39 PM

All kinds of sea food are in short supply all over the world. The reason, of course, there are simply too many people. This is just one more example.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: SINSULL
Date: 06 Aug 09 - 09:52 PM

Not in short supply - just the opposite. The prices have dropped because tourists (hence restaurants) are not indulging. Lobstermen are threatening a strike to create need and price increases.
Even at $2.69/lb, lobster is dear. It is mostly shell and waste. Many lobstermen will not survive this season and it is getting ugly.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: curmudgeon
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 09:39 AM

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — Law enforcement officials are discussing strategies on how best to increase their presence on Maine's Penobscot Bay in the wake of heated disputes among lobstermen.

Marine Patrol Col. Joe Fessenden said Friday's meeting will include his agency, the Knox County Sheriff's Department, the Coast Guard and the Maine State Police.

The meeting in Rockland comes two days after two lobster boats were sunk and another was partially sunk in Owls Head harbor, and less than three weeks after a lobsterman on Matinicus Island was charged with shooting another lobsterman in a territorial dispute.

Fessenden said he has fielded other complaints in Penobscot Bay about lobster trap lines being cut. He said one lobsterman said he was at "wit's end" after finding lines cut to 100 of his traps.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: gnu
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 10:11 AM

Same up here. But, there is another factor. Our Native brothers have been funded and given a share. Good idea, but many resent the big money from the federal government. The real problems began when Natives began fishing out of season, retaining lobsters that should have been put back, selling to the general public for cash, and paying no taxes on the haul..... shots fired, boats and buildings burnt... very tense indeed.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: fretless
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 03:29 PM

I'll be going back to Casco Bay in a week or so, where it has long been understood that if you mess around with someone else's lobster traps you'd better be ready to be shot at. There's a long history of violence or potential violence in the lobster fishery, although this summer's incidents seem to be extreme even by local standards.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: GUEST,Kendall
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 04:07 PM

When I was a Warden a fisherman said to me,"I could drop you with one shot from this 30.06 rifle". I told him "Make sure you don't miss because I can fire 6 times before you can reload". He's still alive and so am I.

Subject: RE: BS: Lobster War!
From: Charley Noble
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 09:51 PM

Hard times make hard enemies.

Sad but true.

Charley Noble