Campobello Island, Canada. Pumping Atlantic herring out of a weir into a herring carrier. New Brunswick, Canada still has active weirs. Eastern Maine’s weirs began disappearing when Atlantic herring stopped coming inshore. The expected deep cuts to the 2019 herring quota has lobster fishermen on edge about bait supplies. Chessie Crowe Gartmayer photo.
Maine Debates Gray Zone Contested Waters Bill
by Sarah Craighead Dedmon
It was concern for his traps that led Cutler lobsterman Brian Cates to head out into the contested waters of the gray zone before dawn on September 25, 2018. He wanted to be sure no one was tampering with his gear.
“We feel like we have to be out there at nighttime. When we’re out there with our lights going, making a few calls on the radio, [the Canadians] are going to notice that,” said Cates. “I wanted to be there to make my presence known. The marine patrol came along and got me for hauling my traps too early.”
Fishermen on both sides of the U.S./Canada border know when they’re fishing in the gray zone, a 277-square-mile expanse of sea that lies between the coast of Washington County, Maine and
