At the end of a year filled with political drama, disappointing lobster prices, and the looming shadow of punitive whale regulations that could eradicate the Maine lobster fishery, we asked several MLA board members for … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead September 2019
On August 30, the MLA notified the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that we would not be a part of their effort to put the full responsibility for the right whale decline on the lobster … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: November 2016
First published in Landings, November, 2016. As I write this, we are in the home stretch of the election season. It seems the negative campaigning and rhetoric reached a new high (or low) this year. … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: June 2016
First published in Landings, June, 2016. These are the days we’ll remember. Some day in the future we will look back on this chapter of the Maine lobster fishery and say “those were the good … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: February 2016
First published in Landings, February, 2016. A Look Back at 2015 Since 1954, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) has pursued its mission to advocate for a sustainable lobster resource and the fishermen and communities that … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: January 2015
First published in Landings, January, 2016. Working as a fisherman isn’t for everyone, but for most who have built a career working on the ocean hauling trap after trap, it is the only career worth … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: December 2012
First published in the MLA Newsletter, December, 2012. What a year. After an historic lobster glut, international blockade, superstorm, the Presidential election, devastatingly low prices and record landings, I think many of us will be … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: November 2012
First published in the MLA Newsletter, November, 2012. In October, I had the pleasure of representing Maine lobster at a conference which included product groups such as the Idaho Potato Commission, Napa Valley Vitners, the … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: October 2012
First published in the MLA Newsletter, October, 2012. “The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.” John Maynard Keynes wrote these words in 1935, and they remind me … Continue reading
Steaming Ahead: September 2012
First published in the MLA Newsletter, September, 2012. 2012 will go down in history as a lobster season bursting with challenges that elude simple answers. Profits are way down this year for all lobstermen and … Continue reading