After Supreme Court rejects appeal, lobstering union vows to continue fight
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The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an emergency petition by the Maine Lobstering Union that sought to overturn a seasonal fishing ban off the coast of Maine.
The Supreme Court on Friday turned down a request by the Maine Lobstering Union and others to end a closure of lobstering waters off the state’s coast.
The union, Damon Family Lobster Co. Inc., Fox Island Lobster Co. LLC and Frank Thompson had filed an emergency injunction application on Wednesday with the court, seeking to halt enforcement of an earlier ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
That decision had stayed one by the U.S. District Court for Maine to stop a new four-month closure of 967 square miles of the Gulf of Maine to lobster fishing.
The developments all stem from a plan, issued by the Fisheries Service on Aug. 31, that aims to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale by creating new requirements affecting Maine lobstermen. In addition to the October-through-January ban on lobster fishing with buoy lines, implemented for the first time this year, the plan includes mandates for additional gear marking and gear modification.
Friday’s application was rejected without comment by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who handles emergency matters arising from New England.
Union spokeswoman Virginia Olsen on Monday told Mainebiz the MLU is now meeting with legal counsel to consider next steps.
“We are very disappointed with Justice Breyer's rejection. We will not give up. Maine lobstermen deserve better than a one-word answer,” she said.
“We are fighting for our very existence. This is larger than a 967 square mile closure. If NOAA is allowed to move forward with arbitrary and capricious closures with the data they used for this closure Maine is in big trouble, not just the lobstermen but all of our coastal communities are at risk.”
She noted that the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation is accepting donations to continue the advocacy work.
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