Maine and Massachusetts Rope Buybacks in January

Lobstermen and fishermen from the gillnet, crab, sea bass, or hagfish fisheries are invited to turn in old, used or retired endlines or groundlines at regional buybacks Jan. 10-14, 2015. Buybacks are tentatively planned in four areas—Ellsworth, Rockland and Portland; and Dartmouth, Mass. Registration is encouraged. Exact dates and collection sites will be confirmed in early January.

Rope should have a diameter of 7/16 inch, ½ inch or 9/16 inch and can be any length (3-fathom minimum) of sink rope, polysteel, Manline, or neutrally buoyant “whale” rope. The rope must be clean and coiled so as to be manageable for handling and shipping. Rope will be weighed on-site and each contributing fisherman will receive 50 cents per pound.

These regional buybacks are the next in a year-long series of collections to procure 180,000 pounds of rope for New York artist Orly Genger, who will transform it into a monumental sculpture to be permanently installed in South Korea. Since 2009, site-specific works by Genger have been created from hundreds of thousands of pounds of retired rope from the Maine, Massachusetts and offshore lobster and crab fisheries. For more information on the artist and her rope sculptures, see OrlyGenger.com.

Additional rope buyback dates and locations will be announced in the spring of 2015.

Laura Ludwig, currently project director at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, ran the federal groundline exchange for the Maine lobster industry from 2006-2012 with the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation. For more information or to register for the rope buybacks, contact Laura at 207-263-5300 or lldowneast@gmail.com.