MLA Directors Meeting Summary Chairman Sonny Beal called the April meeting to order. MLA staff reported that memberships are on track for this time of year. Working with board members to retain and recruit members has been effective. We will soon launch new member support tools, including a portal which will enable members to log into individual MLA accounts. April is Jr. Harvester renewal month. All student license holders receive an MLA membership card, merchandise and a quarterly...

More than 30 years ago, Irish lobstermen were worried about declining stocks. A group traveled to Maine to learn from the state’s lobster industry and attend the International Lobster Congress which was held in 1993 in Portland. This winter, a few small pieces of Maine fishing gear washed ashore in Ireland and brought that history back to life. Thérèse Maddock of Kilmore Quay, County Wexford, Ireland, recently contacted the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) after finding a few old trap...

Leah Ames, 10, and Luke Ames, 8, know how to get about on the water. Or at least on the waters around their home island, Matinicus. The two siblings each run ten traps which they fish under the watchful eye of their father, lobsterman David Ames Jr. It’s part of the family tradition, according to Leah. “My dad has been a fisherman since he was a kid and his dad and grandfather too,” she said. She started going lobstering with her father some years ago, as did her brother. The two like being...