L E T T E R  T O  T H E  E D I T O R

A Smoke Screen, Not a War

As a long time bloodworm harvester and chapter president of the downeast Independent Maine Marine Worm Harvesters Association, I have been very involved with proposed legislation (LD 370) that would essentially give total control and ownership of the intertidal zone to the clam committees of towns who have them and to shellfish ordinances. The Worm Harvesters Association has successfully defended our rights for the past 4 years.

The opposition has started all of their arguments with “we have to do something to stop this war on the mud flats before someone gets hurt and vehicles get burned!” Or “All of our hard work and that of our local harvesters has gone for nothing, because the unregulated bait worm harvesters have come in and continuously rolled over the same mud and our clam harvesters are the one’s who suffer and pay the price.” This is the kind of rhetoric and hype that has been out there for the past 4 years and it is simply hype to instigate and enrage “hot heads” on both sides. A couple of incidents have happened because of it!

Circumstances for wormers and clammers are more difficult west of Belfast. Brunswick for example has received large grants to support clam reseeding programs.The direction groups like the Tide Lands Coalition are going in is toward long term leasing to entities that will displace the licensed clammers and wormers who have historically harvested these areas.

There times when wormers and clammers argue? Absolutely! But clammers and clammers argue and wormers and wormers argue. Both groups have argued amongst themselves since their industry began and probably will until the last clam and worm are harvested. But there is no “war.”

There is an attempt to shift public resource access rights under the guise of something else.

– Fred Johnson
Steuben, Maine