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bubba1819 t1_iymnguo wrote

The Maine lobster fishing industry is responsible for an average of $1billion of the state’s economy each year. All of Maines politicians know this and this is why they are fighting the federal government so hard on this. Replacing $1 billion of revenue from the state is going to be extremely difficult if the lobster industry falls. Not to mention the lobster industry is major incentive for people to visit Maine as tourists. This issue affects everyone in this state whether you know it or not.

https://www.islandinstitute.org/working-waterfront/lobsters-claw-hold-on-maine-is-strong/

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l3ubba t1_iyn0z38 wrote

I don’t disagree with you, however, I think the real threat to the lobster industry is climate change, not conservation efforts. I don’t want to see the Maine lobster fishery turn into what happened further south in New England, but that appears to be what we are on track for.

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King_O_Walpole t1_iyn25jy wrote

I wish the government would just let it go. Let us (Maine) do what we do, conservation of the lobster and other fisheries.

If climate change kills the industry so be it, don’t let the whales and wind power kill it due to federal regulations for their lobbyists

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Bywater t1_iyn3fz5 wrote

They tried that before, that's why they don't lobster in Long Island Sound anymore. They tried to say it was warming and pesticides, both of which are clearly at play and not a good thing but a couple studies have pointed out it was mostly just overfishing. That is why you see a lot of the hoops our fisherman jump through in play up here and federal oversite as capitalists going to exploit and all that.

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King_O_Walpole t1_iyn5nhk wrote

Dude over fishing of lobster is not a concern at all in Maine

Maine has the best conservation rules in place for any industry.

If overfishing kills the Maine lobster industry it’s because NH and MA allow landing of what Maine considers illegal lobsters, oversized and egg bearing.

The Darling Marine center has proven this.

Climate change will impact where lobsters migrate just like the shrimp! It’s not over fishing in Maine it’s climate change.

No more regulations are needed.

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Bywater t1_iyn7hw7 wrote

> Dude over fishing of lobster is not a concern at all in Maine

Your assessment that "there is no concern" does not match up with the amount of regulation we have. Climate change, if it does actually get to warm for them, will just kill them. They can not survive the lack of O2 at the depths needed to maintain that temp, they won't be migrating anywhere.

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King_O_Walpole t1_iyn8kg0 wrote

There is no concern due to the regulations, which are in place for conservation efforts.

You’re a special kind of soap box warrior.

My families been fishing for over 100years. Lobster, scallops, shrimp, halibut, clams, periwinkles.

I know for a fact I understand the situation better than most, I lived it my entire life. It is in my blood.

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crenk3130 t1_iynbke3 wrote

if that is your attitude towards sustainable harvesting and ocean conservation i’d suggest you teach the next generation of your family a new skill.

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King_O_Walpole t1_iyndwit wrote

I love all you SJW thinking I’m against conservation.

99% of lobsterman are more conservationist than you soapbox preachers.

We follow the rules, even when they are flawed, and voice our opposition against the flawed “models” scientists use.

I’m sorry but I’m not gonna be swayed by a nerd in Oklahoma who stares at a computer all day working for the feds and comes up with “lobster is overfished”. Boots on the ground experience says otherwise.

Are lobsters numbers going down, yes, due to the warming of the gulf of Maine. No rules or regulations will change that.

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l3ubba t1_iyn2f7d wrote

That’d be fine if it didn’t also impact the rest of the country. Maine isn’t some isolated island away from the rest of the world. What happens in one state can impact other states, especially when we are talking about climate change and environmental factors.

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bubba1819 t1_iyn3t2u wrote

It is true that climate change will most likely cause the industry to ultimately fall. However, that will be years to decades down the road giving us time to diversify in the meantime. The conservation efforts that are being made do not give anyone enough time to diversify.

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crenk3130 t1_iynb11o wrote

“years or decades” yeah bub that’s pretty fuckin soon if you ask me. the only people i know that think like that are the “i’ll be in the ground long before then” types, and they’re all self-centered dicks.

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bubba1819 t1_iynbk2f wrote

I’m not saying decades isn’t soon. Just that 10 years is 10 years that someone can use to change how they make money to keep their home and pay their bills. 10 years vs 2 years is a hell of a difference when it comes to how a person makes a living.

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crenk3130 t1_iyndu5v wrote

this is nonsensical but i’ll entertain it. if the population that you’re giving that extra 8 years to is SO dead set in their ways that they won’t change now, why is giving them 8 extra years going to change anything? the gulf of maine is the second fastest warming body of water in the world and has been for a decade; that is NOT new information. ocean acidification and de-salinization is making it harder for lobsters, crabs, clams, etc. to develop and maintain their shells, which will impact future harvests as a higher percentage of young populations fail to mature. so, as these things CONTINUE to occur to a greater extent, what THEN will be the incentive for lobsterman to change after a decade of being the pampered by people who don’t want to tell them the hard truth of their situation, that their industry WILL DIE absent widespread intervention and reform.

lobsterman can keep burying their heads into the sand if they want but i guess i just don’t want to hear about it when the bottom falls out on a group of workers who are belligerently resistant to any and all changes

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bubba1819 t1_iynk70v wrote

I don’t see how this is nonsensical at all as I am living proof of a fishermen leaving the industry. My entire lively good used to depend on lobster fishing and as I learned more and more about the vast impacts climate change would have on my livelihood, I took the slow arduous task of getting out of the industry and moving to a different part of the state. It was a hard process and I was lucky enough not to have to worry about how I was going to support a child in the process. I was also lucky enough that I didn’t have to worry about a boat payment or a mortgage. If I had those two things I wouldn’t have been able to walk away so easily. I’m also not the only one. I know of quite a few fishermen that are seeing the warning signs and have either entirely gotten out of the fishery or are diversifying their income. Many are starting up small aquaculture farms such as farming kelp. I know some lobster pound owners are starting to raise oysters in their pounds to diversify their incomes. Are some fishermen entirely ignorant of accepting that climate change is real? Yes, there are, but there are also many that have an all to real understanding of it.

Also want to point out that I have a Marine Biology degree and have participated in scientific studies on how ocean acidification may impact shellfish. So I have a pretty good understanding how all this works.

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