Steaming Ahead | June 2026

Spring in Maine — the six-month season. In my opinion spring is the most miserable season of them all. I know some of you say winter is for sure, but at least with winter you know what you’re getting. With spring it’s like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. It could be 35 degrees and sleeting or 60 degrees and sunshine. The latter doesn’t happen very often in spring, but when it does it is marvelous. Here in Downeast Maine it’s usually 45 degrees and blowing 20.

Spring isn’t all doom and gloom, it’s also full of excitement and energy. Guys are getting their traps ready for the season, others who fish all winter are bringing some home to dry out and repair. The peeps start peeping, the birds start chirping, the trees start to blossom and it puts just a little pep in your step even if you are freezing to death.

Spring also brings alewives, the magical bait that brings out (as we call them down here) the “big he ones.” Chasing alewives for bait means sitting in line for hours at a stream somewhere talking to other fishermen about the goings on in the lobster industry. But breaking that trap on and seeing the selects in there will definitely get you fired up.

Another sure sign of spring is the drop in price from the winter high. It happens every year and yet people are surprised by it. The lobster fishing areas in the Canadian provinces open up and the price drops. That’s just what happens in spring.

Spring also brings graduations. As I write this in the middle of May, I will be attending my son’s college graduation. This is a day when kids become adults and enter the working world. Now, most of the kids on the coast already know what work is, hauling their gear in the summer and on weekends and school vacations. Some kids graduating along the coast, whether from college or high school, will stick with what they love and were brought up doing and stay on the water. Trust me, I have two of them. I did the same thing. It’s what keeps the traditions of lobstering going.

Another springtime activity is renewing licenses, permits and documentation. And what a joy that’s become!

It used to be no big deal. The feds would mail something to remind you, with the renewal paper to fill out and send back in. Easy peasy. If you didn’t get all your paper logs in or messed one up they really didn’t know the difference. Not now though. Holy moly, I was a month and a half trying to get my halibut license and my federal permit renewed.

I’ll be the first to admit that if procrastination was a paying job, I wouldn’t be worried about the price of lobsters this fall. I do pretty good getting in my lobster landings, but the halibut landings usually escape me. And this stupid electronic reporting has really made things difficult.

The VESL app wasn’t bad when it first came out, but then the feds had to get involved and it really took a turn for the worse. I had half a dozen days or so that were “pending” or “submitting.” Some I hadn’t filled out correctly, like I had the boat leaving the dock at 5 p.m. instead of a.m., but some of it is just the app doing app things.

To get things straightened out, I was talking with one person from DMR and two from NOAA. It’s hard not to get mad at the people on the other end, but I know it’s not their fault. These people are there to help and have a thankless job. They’re also dealing with countless fishermen from all over New England at the same time.

I fixed the dates I needed to, then waited 24 hours for DMR’s LEED system to catch up with the VESL app. It did, and then they tell me there’s another date that has to be reported. It’s enough to drive you crazy. I am happy to say that I officially have a halibut license and my federal lobster license is processed, so I won that battle and am good to go.

Finally, I’d like to squash a couple rumors from the rumor mill that I’ve heard floating around. First, the MLA IS AGAINST ROPELESS FISHING.

We all know ropeless will not work in our fishery. Even if it were affordable, even if the technology worked every time, it isn’t something that the Maine lobster fishery could use. Not knowing where someone else’s gear is would make it a logistical nightmare. And it is very dangerous. Not having a line to the surface makes it impossible to retrieve someone who is entangled in a line.

Just the other day a friend told me about losing his sternman overboard. If it hadn’t been for the line still aboard the boat, he would never have gotten him back. #endlinessavelives

Second, the MLA is NOT against Jared Golden’s bill to extend the whale rule pause to 2035. The current pause ends in 2028, yet there is still a ton of whale research to do. The right whale population has had record births this season and fewer deaths so extending the pause will likely result in a higher population by 2035. While Golden’s bill has a long way to go before it reaches the President’s desk, Trump said he would sign it if it gets there.

Please remember next time you hear some silly statement that the MLA isn’t in favor of something good that will benefit lobstermen, find someone from the board and get the facts. Throughout this year and every year, the MLA is doing everything in its power to keep you and your kids on the water and fishing.