Lobsterman faces $100K in fines for 'egregious' violation
A Stonington lobsterman could face potential jail time and over $100,000 in fines after being charged for an “egregious” violation of state law.
The Portland Press Herald reported Theodore Gray, 34, was charged on May 9 by the Maine Marine Patrol for possession of nearly 270 undersized lobsters, 123 female lobsters with V-notches and 20 traps owned by another lobsterman. The case remains under investigation, and there may be additional charges.
“Through my 28-year career I have only seen a handful of what I would call extreme violations like this involving the taking of short lobsters,” Marine Patrol Maj. Jon Cornish told the newspaper. “In the last 24 years, there have only been two such cases, which make this one of the most egregious violations I have seen.”
State law prohibits lobstermen from keeping lobsters that measure less than 3 ¼ inches along the carapace, and keeping female lobsters that are marked with the so-called V-notch to maintain reproduction of cycles for the sustainability of Maine’s lobster population. In both cases, the lobsters must be immediately thrown back into the water.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments