tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156859352292058715.post1201703156267992096..comments2024-03-22T03:23:53.892-04:00Comments on The Flotsam Diaries: A tale of loss, litter, and gridlockHarryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13432284983902312892noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156859352292058715.post-9187829138378912412010-06-16T11:32:53.665-04:002010-06-16T11:32:53.665-04:00Hi Laura! Thank you so much for the comment and al...Hi Laura! Thank you so much for the comment and all the great info. I'm especially glad to learn about the EEZ -- it was hard to believe that the majority of traps were coming in from the farthest offshore.<br /><br />I've bookmarked your great Web site and will add it to my links list here. It must be a constantly tricky tightrope to walk between lobstermen working extremely hard to earn an honest living amid a tangle of rules & laws, and scientists/beachgoers trying to ensure a clean and safe and sustainable environment. I don't envy anyone that task!<br /><br />Thanks also for the info on multiple tags. Funny enough, I just found two derelict traps south of Ocean Park with 4-5 tags on them (new post forthcoming). Good to know that finding one tag doesn't always give a guaranteed year of loss. Reminds me again of archaeology. If you find a coin from, say, 1800, it couldn't have been dropped in 1790, but it -could- have been in 1801, or 1850, or 1950, or yesterday.Harryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13432284983902312892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6156859352292058715.post-89970461270827505072010-06-16T11:17:43.126-04:002010-06-16T11:17:43.126-04:00Hi Harry,
What a great blog you have here! I work...Hi Harry,<br />What a great blog you have here! I work at the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (www.gomlf.org) based in Kennebunk, and have recently conducted some at-sea derelict gear recovery projects with the lobster industry. I wanted to comment on a couple things you mentioned above -<br /><br />First off, you are right on target regarding why the traps are still on the beach -- technically the only person allowed to handle a lost lobster trap is its owner. This makes cleaning them off the beach a matter of obtaining permits from the State.<br /><br />EEZ -- yes, that does mean that the trap can be legally fished in federal waters (anything outside of the 3-mile state water line) -- but those same traps are just as likely to be fished inside state waters during the year when the lobsters move inside (i.e. summer), so any derelict trap you find in Ocean Park w/ an EEZ tag may have come from as close as Wood Island or somewhere else in Saco Bay.<br /><br />ME 00, ME 07, etc -- when you find a derelict trap, you can often tell the minimum age of the trap by the year on the tag. Some traps will have many years' worth of tags, so the newest tag will tell you when the lobsterman last fished that trap before it was lost.<br /><br />Thank you for keeping such a great blog, and for sharing the process w/ us. I've bookmarked it and will check back often!Laura Ludwignoreply@blogger.com