A new year usually brings feelings of anticipation and a promise of good things coming in the year ahead. This year has been different.
It's the uncertainty about what the future holds for Maine's
lobster fishery that is building this winter. C. Cleg. Photo.
We start the year with heavy hearts as we mourn the deaths of two fishermen who were lost at sea after their boat went down. It is impossible to make sense of the loss of Chester and Aaron Barrett. Downeast fishermen have lost two of their own, a father and son, deeply affecting their small fishing communities. Some fishermen aided in the search, other community members rallied to support the missing men’s family and set up a GoFundMe site which, to date, has raised more than $62,000. Donations in support of the family can be made to www.gofundme.com/f/fishing-vessel-sudden-impact-support-melanie-barrett.
Their deaths serve as a stark reminder of the risks quietly faced by those who choose to make their livings from the sea.
Beyond the immediate heartbreak of the accident, this tragedy reminds us of the incredible courage it takes to step onto a boat, face the unknown, and do the work that sustains so many of us. It also underscores what is becoming a new normal for fishing communities — a growing tension rooted in anxiety over proposed regulations and the changing reality of our livelihoods.
Fishermen are caught between the need to protect their future, keep their fishing business profitable, and sustain the ocean and its resources. The challenges are high stakes, tensions are rising, and there are no simple answers. Each issue on its own could have devastating effects on the lobster industry.
Take the whale rules. In 2024 the Maine lobster fishery was on track for a near shut down to protect right whales, but thanks to MLA’s historic court win and a six year pause from Congress, we have a reprieve until 2029.
We know we’re facing further regulation when it comes to whales and the situation is evolving. For years, right whales were extremely rare in areas where Maine lobstermen fish. In January, however, there was an unprecedented gathering of as many as 90 right whales near Jeffreys Basin, prime fishing grounds for lobstermen from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Lobstermen are worried about what will happen to the fishery in 2029.
And offshore wind. Maine’s fishing industry has not budged in its opposition to offshore wind. The “establishment” told us time and again that offshore wind was coming and if we knew what was good for us, we would “get on board.” Maine’s fishing industry sounded an unequivocal “No.”
It is clear that President Trump heard our concerns. His executive order putting new offshore wind developments on hold was welcome news. Ensuring “that the United States is able to maintain a robust fishing industry for future generations” was one of the reasons cited for the action. We hope that this means there will be no progress on industrializing the Gulf of Maine with offshore wind projects during the next four years. After that, we will have to wait and see.
Then there’s the gauge increase. Ironically, lobster resource managers had set out to protect lobstermen. They saw the southern New England lobster fishery crash about 10 years ago, leaving those lobstermen without a fishery. In their zeal to save LMA 1 lobstermen from a similar fate, they failed to comprehend the industry’s skepticism and concern over their proposed solution – an increase in the gauge.
The MLA was among the first to oppose the gauge because it would disrupt lobster trade with Canada, was blatantly unfair to Maine’s Gray Zone lobstermen, relied on a complicated trigger that the MLA didn’t agree with, and would result in significant reductions in catch. As more industry groups and lobstermen joined the opposition, there was a growing belief that they weren’t being heard and that the gauge change wasn’t needed.
When what lobstermen are seeing with their own eyes doesn’t match what they’re being told, they push back hard. Ultimately, this push-back led the Commissioner to pull the rule. He will work with lobstermen to develop alternative measures that achieve conservation equivalent to that intended by the gauge increase. It is certainly a relief that this gauge increase will not happen in July, but this issue is not over, and the path forward is uncertain.
The lobster industry is now living in limbo. We’ve had a series of tremendous regulatory victories, which is rare in commercial fisheries. But there is no end to these processes. On the other side of each victory lies the unknown of what will come next. We must try to prepare for an uncertain future and cope with the stress and anxiety that comes with not having answers.
Anxiety runs deep as each of lobsterman fears for the fate of his lobstering business, the future of his community and the future of our way of life.
The MLA has fought countless battles over the last 71 years to build a thriving lobster industry in Maine and we are not going to back down now. The world has changed tremendously since the MLA was established in 1954, and the MLA is changing with it.
The issues are complicated yet the MLA is well prepared to take them on, in part because the organization is led by a board of 21 deeply committed lobstermen from throughout the coast. Each person understands that it is his duty to sustain the lobster fishery for today’s MLA members and for those who will continue our proud heritage in the future.
As always, stay safe on the water.
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