From One Lobsterman to Another: A Haunting Message

Oh, we read you LOUD and CLEAR.

In light of the recent flurry of reports about scuffles among area lobstermen, A.’s not willing to take any chances with his few remaining traps.

Episodes of violence among lobsterman have been especially intense this year. Record low market prices (lobsters were selling wholesale for $2.25-3.00 per pound, last I heard) for the second year in a row have put enormous strain on the traditional fishing industry. Violence came to a head recently in the well-publicized story of  Matinicus Island. This remote island 20 miles off the mainland with a year-round population of 51, according to the 2000 census, has some of the richest lobstering fields in the world. Tensions over turf rights on the island escalated to gunplay earlier this summer in July. Sixty-eight year old Vance Bunker shot Chris Young, 41,  in the neck — somehow managing not to mortally wound him.

The implicit code of territorial rights among lobsterman is no joke. Local fishing families do not hesitate to protect their turf, whether by cutting lines or even sinking the boats of competitors, as recently happened in another unrelated incident in the Mid-coast region. A more common practice is to send signals to the encroacher, signals such as leaving bottles in the traps or tying a knot in the buoy line.

Here’s a clip of A. last Friday deciphering the code:

A. has cause for concern and he’s not going to take any chances embroiling himself in a turf war.