State Marine Patrol officials are searching for vandals who cut loose more than 200 lobster traps, valued at as much as $18,000, from a plum fishing spot in the Damariscotta River.
Dan White, a patrol officer, said 12 to 18 South Bristol lobster fishermen were victimized. One fisherman from the Boothbay side of the river also lost some gear, although he said he just “lost a couple of traps.”
Lt. Jonathan Cornish, the division supervisor for the Marine Patrol, said he hoped this was not the opening salvo in a “lobster trap war.”
“Nobody wins a trap war, everybody loses,” he said.
“We hope cooler heads prevail and give us time to do our jobs,” he said.
In recent years, some South Bristol fishermen have moved their traps up river north of the Fort Island narrows section. Someone may have objected to this move, according to Sonny Leeman, the manager of the South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-Op.
“In the last several years, guys from around South Bristol have been moving up the river. A few more go up there each year,” said a local lobsterman.
Territoriality issues frequently trigger disputes between fishermen and those from various harbors, said Robert C. Bayer, Ph.D, the executive director of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine.
Current economic conditions also could be a reason for action, with the price of lobsters down this week to near $2 a pound. The break-even price for a fisherman is around $4 to $5 a pound, he said.
“These are hard times. I am not sure what will happen,” he said.
In Maine, lobstermen have maintained a tradition of local control of their home territories and set their own rules. They also defended their territories from those who pushed inside their traditional borders, according to author Colin Woodard, the author of the “Lobster Coast.”
This system has been effective and disputes have been worked out informally. But every once in a while these disputes flare up.
“In this case, there are ways the local fishermen signal displeasure at those who are moving in. They might find a knot tied on the pot bouy spindle. If he does not take the hint, he might find a note in his trap. If he doesn’t comply, he could find his traps empty, or missing,” said Woodard.
In some cases, if fishermen do not back off, once in a while large numbers of traps are cut, and huge amounts of gear are lost. Sometimes boats are sunk, people carry weapons, and, in the 1950s, people shot at each other, Woodward said.
In the Damariscotta River, the missing traps had been placed in waters north of the narrows. They were vandalized last Tuesday night, July 7, White said.
Acting on tips that additional vandalism might be planned for the weekend, patrol officers were out both Saturday and Sunday nights watching for any unusual activity, Cornish said.
Russell Pinkham, who fishes out of Little River on the Boothbay side of the Damariscotta said the area where the traps were cut was a good area to find lobsters.
“When the lobsters start to come in, it is a good spot,” he said.
Pinkham and other fishermen were reluctant to provide details on possible suspects.
“I don’t know. I have not talked to anybody about this. I don’t know,” he said.
Another lobsterman was blunt. “I have not heard about it. I don’t talk about these things. Thanks for calling,” he said.
Losing lobster traps, for whatever reason, adds to a fisherman’s fiscal burden.
A spokesman for Brooks Trap Mill in Thomaston said lobster traps cost between $40 and $100 depending on the “bells and whistles” selected by the individual fisherman. Pot buoys cost around $5 and the new sinking rope might cost $10.
At $90 a trap, the total loss for the South Bristol lobstermen could be in the $18,000 neighborhood.
It is not the first time Damariscotta River lobster traps have been vandalized. Years ago, when there were some similar incidents in the river, the vandals cut off the pot buoys and hid them on islands.
Later in the winter, they recovered the hidden pot buoys and removed the numbers and repainted them, said a local fisherman.
Remembering the earlier incident, younger South Bristol fishermen landed skiffs on Fort and Stratton (Hodgdon) islands on Wednesday seeking pot buoys.
Their search paid off. Hidden in the woods, they discovered about 130 pot buoys. A search of nearby Farmer’s Island was unsuccessful, but 70 more were found in the path of Peters Island, according to the lobsterman.
While the traps are gone, some may be recovered. Many fishermen are adept at recovering their lost traps with grappling hooks, said Cornish.
Marine patrol officers on both sides of the river are working the case. “We have a couple of leads and are looking for a boat,” said Cornish.
White declined to name suspects in the case, but he echoed his boss and said he hoped the situation cools down.
“It could be anybody. I have some information. There (have been) lots of accusations against certain harbors and certain individuals,” he said.
White asked anyone with information in the case to call him at 592-1260.
