FRIENDSHIP, Maine — Local law enforcement agencies are investigating the intentional sinking of two lobster boats Monday night.
The two vessels were cut from their moorings in Friendship Harbor sometime during the night and then their intake valves were cut which allowed water to fill the boats, said Maine Marine Patrol Sgt. Rene Cloutier.
The tide was going out and took the boats outside the harbor, he said.
One of the boats was found washed up on Walker’s Beach in Friendship, and the other was found washed up on Ram Island.
Cloutier said the U.S. Coast Guard and Knox County Sheriff’s Office are working with Maine Marine Patrol to find out who committed the crimes.
One boat is owned by Gary Jones and the other by his son Logan Jones, both of Cushing. Cloutier said he did not know the estimated value of the boats or whether they were insured.
There have been other instances of vandalism of lobster boats in Friendship during the past six to eight months, Cloutier said, but none to the extent of Monday night’s incident.
There are no suspects yet and he said there is no motive determined for the sinkings. He said there is no evidence that this involves a territorial dispute similar to what occurred in August 2009 when two boats were sunk in Owls Head Harbor.
No one was ever charged in that case.
Looks like instead of keeping up with the Joneses, someone might be thinking they’re getting back at them. ‘Friendship’ Harbor indeed.
Was this a Matinicus by-line?????
Click on the link to the “Man Charged with Trap Cutting” article (listed under “Similar Articles”). See if you notice a common thread.
Thanks porkrind77..so how can they say its unrelated when Jones was also the victim of the trap cutting?
I have zero tolerance for vigilante justice and it is strongly discouraged in penalities..loss of license and not able to work on ay one else’s boat even for cutting a line.
I hope they catch the vigilante’s and hold them to the full penalty the law allows.
Trap Cutting and boat sinking are unlawful. If Jones did anything that was unlawful to justify these attacks he should have been brought before the law.
We all have to have zero tolerance for vigilante justice.
Friendship, Maine, isn’t.
This is why Maine has a thriving Lobster industry.
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We could start enforcement by creating either a no fish zone to protect the lobstermen from themselves or contact the pentagon and request 24 hour surveillance with sophisticated drones with infared vision. These drones are capable of flying 10 feet off the water and can slow to 5 knots with a drag if needed. In Canada sturgeon have been fitted with underwater cameras to get a 3d view of the problem. I think we can send an agent as a undercover worm or clam digger to the local breakfast nook to record incriminating gossip.
so do you approve of this “tradition” of vigilantism? you see it as just part of the culture that is understood and accepted in the fleet?
Looks like a clear case of revenge for trap cutting.
This is the problem with the Maine Lobster Industry. Entry to this states
resource is controlled by a privileged few and by the Maine Lobster association.
The Lobster Association has controlled the industry so that their children have
easy access to the industry you need only complete your hours before your 18th
birthday. Entry by anyone else is impossible due to lengthy waiting lists of up
to fifteen years, in many areas 5 people have to retire prior to one new license
and the way the system is set up their is no reason or incentive to retire. Once
you wait out the entry period and start lobstering your traps are then cut. The
system was evaluated and a new plan was presented to the state
government however under pressure from the Maine Lobsterman’s Lobby the plan was
quickly scraped. The method used to sink these boats is a method commonly
discussed by lobstermen as the easiest way to sink a boat in revenge sinking.
How to fix this? Does someone have the courage? Allow lobstermen to sell
their license. Modify the entry system so that non family members have more
access to the industry. For example one new license by a non family member or those
over 18 to one new license by those under the age of 18. Why should those under
18 have immediate access to the industry and a state resource.
Another option look at New Hampshire. Anyone can purchase a 100 trap
license and all other licenses are sold on the open market.
At least evaluate the system and come up with a fairer system. This would
eliminate the notion among lobsterman that they own this resource and no-one
else should be allowed access to the industry. The present system encourages
trap wars. In addition the state needs to put more money into the Marine Patrol.
The few officers on the coast today cannot possible monitor the industry.
No one cared about the lobstering industry when we were just getting by. Now that there is some money in it everyone wants to get in. Plenty of non-family kids get signed up to go lobstering. Most of the new kids are not from lobstering familys in my area. Sorry that you can’t go but the federal government said that we need to reduce the number of traps in the water so everyone can’t go. Have i seen you on here complaining about not being able to go elving,shrimping,scolloping,sea urcining,sea cucumbering or any of the other fisheries that are closed?
asmartfish the vast maority of the 18 and under lobster entry licenses are to family members, relatives of family members or close friends, sons of girlfriends etc. Why should under 18 year olds have easy access to an industry that is owned by the public and over 18 year olds lets say a 40 or 50 year old’s are kept out by a strong lobster lobby and a goverment with no backbone to stand up to them. Your comparison to the other industry is a poor comparison. The lobster fishery is not closed it is filled with nepotism and the haves and have nots. Some people have entry and some people don’t esentially based on your birth, family and friends. There needs to be a more equitable way to dertermine who can fish. It can’t be determined based on your birth your friends or your geography. When and if you can fish the territories are controled by what amounts to in many cases gang warfare of who can fish and where you can fish. In most harbors half the lobster live in fear lest they cross the line and have their traps cut, their gear ruined and their lobster lifted. Any lobsterman knows this is true even if they won’t admit it.
Can tell you know nothing and just have sour grapes. Go whine somewhere else.
1smartfish Actually I gave a pretty good account of the industry. The present
system is clearly an example of Restraint of Trade and probably would not hold up under constitutional scrutiny.
The prior Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, Norm
Olsen proposed a modification of the limited system which was presented to the governor who immediately backed down under pressure for the Lobster lobby. The commissioner resigned (fired by the Governor according to the following article) soon after that.You might want to read the enclosed article:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150386387289852
An excerpt from the article:
“As commissioner, Olsen’s call for prudent and rational fishery
regulation didn’t always sit well with fishermen. Olsen was particularly
critical of the limited entry program for fishermen that he says results in an
average wait of nearly 11 years before an apprentice can obtain his license.
Olsen says that when he didn’t agree with the fishermen, it was reported back to the governor that he “just wasn’t listening.”
Smartfish if your interested you might also have a look at the way
Massachusetts runs their entry system which was discussed at a recent town
meeting discussion held in Portland Maine..
Excerpts from the meeting regarding the Massachusetts entry system.
“A new license transfer system was instituted in 1993 which allowed more
people to access licenses. The new transfer procedures permitted licenses to
transfer to a boat’s employees, persons on an established waiting list as well
as to immediate family members.[[Melissa, please check on this – licenses are
still being advertised for sale in Massachusetts] Only those licenses actively
fished for four out of the previous five years can be transferred. A new
lobsterman must show one year of experience lobstering or two years experience in commercial fishing. All new license holders have to be owner-operators of their boat. The state still has a moratorium on issuing any new lobster licenses. “Overall the price [for a lobster license] has remained reasonable,” Adler said”
The Canadian system although fairer would not in my opinion be workable due to the high cost of entry as much as $200,000.
Notes from the meeting:
http://mainelandings.org/2012/04/09/entering-and-exiting-the-lobster-fishery-canadian-and-u-s-perspectives/
Olsen was a fool. Like i said the only reason that anyone cares about lobstering is that there is some money in it now. This resourse is in the shape that it is because the lobstermen have made and supported laws. Kids need to get in and keep it going. Some forty or fifty year old who just wants to jump into in because he can make a quick buck is not what we need. If we drop back to 20 millon pounds you wouldn’t even think of getting in. You can whine all you want but the lobstermen are the ones who have built this industry not you or the state so that may be why they feel that it is theirs. You will never understand and thats a good reason for you to stay on the bank.
Smartfish rather than shoot from the hip why not think about ways to improve the present limited entry system which most people would agree needs to be modifed. By the way I’m not on the bank.
Seems to be working fine. We have the healthest resourse in the state. If you want to be able to buy a licence move to Mass and starve with thier fishermen. The only way that this fishery survives is if people buy into saving something for the next generation. and your not going to get that by people buying in. It is a way of life and when that changes to being a business we are screwed.
Smartfish how the industry is doing and who is benefiting from the industry is a matter of perspective. The issue is that the resource is a public resource not one owned by a few to the exclusion of everyone else. In as much as it is a public resource which is supported and regulated by the state and federal government and not a resource monopolized by a few and their children
friends and family the public has a right to have access to the industry in an equitable manner. What about a 25 or 30 year old that wants to fish. Does the industry need them?
Let me ask you a question when you are ready to retire lets say when you are 65-72 and your knees and back give out and your just tired of it. Would you
like to be able to sell your boat for a decent price? Try selling your boat today. And if licenses were salable ( which by the way works just fine in new Hampshire where the industry is doing well) wouldn’t you want to have some cash to make that transition easier. What about that person who wants to fish and support their family, maybe someone who has been a stern man for years and is still waiting on a long waiting list? Or do you think the its better to keep your tags until you die which is what happens today. There is no incentive to
get out. The system as it is today is not working fine for many people but I suppose you a more concerned with yourself, friends and family than a fair and
equitable system to the benefit of everyone. I suppose that’s the reason for your hostility rather than for an open discussion on the subject.
No i don’t want to be able to sell my license. If you keep your boat in good shape and don’t try to get what you payed for it ten years ago you can sell a boat very easily.As for being more concerned for my family and friends. I’m more cocerned about the fishery. Most lobstermen don’t go for the money it is thier way of life. If you make it about the money then it will become just like all the other failing fishery.
smartfish Ok I think we both made some good points and I agree we all want the industry to do well. I think as I said and many would agree the present system of limited entry needs modification, a reason to get out and an equitable way to get in. I wish you good fishing and best of luck.
Follow-Up: Read the article as suggested by Porkrind77 “Man Charged with
Trap Cutting”.
The Jones family had their gear cut and claim to have lost over $10,000 in
lost gear. The sinking of their boats in this case looks like further
retaliation against them and another example of why the Lobster Industry in
Maine is in serious need of reform.
My bad discus. Didn’t know it was against the rules to mention well known guide lines set up by the fishermen of Maine. Thanks for pointing that fact out.
Can’t mention scuttling a vessel.