Lobsterman pushes for safe flare disposal
Visual distress flares are part of a boat’s safety equipment, but proper disposal of expired flares, which use pyrotechnic chemicals, is a problem that’s now being addressed. Lobstermen are required by law to carry a certain number, depending on vessel size.
So Bailey Island lobsterman Bob Perry has approached Rep. Jay McCreight, D-Harpswell, in order to find an avenue for safe disposal, The Forecaster reported.
McCreight contacted marine wardens, game wardens and the Department of Marine Resources, but found no formal process exists for marine flare disposal.
“As I dug deeper and I discovered that all the information that I was getting (about disposal) was contradictory. Some of it was illegal, some of it was polluting,” McCreight told the paper.
McCreight said she was bewildered by the apparent lack of a solution, especially given the theoretical scale of the problem in Maine.
There are about 6,000 registered fishing vessels in Maine, Jeff Nichols, director of communications for the DMR, told the paper.
McCreight is proposing a statewide, codified solution that doesn’t cost a lot of money. She drafted a bill that asks the Department of Public Safety to “develop a plan using fire departments throughout the state for collection by fire marshal inspectors,” McCreight summarized in an email.
The bill will likely be reviewed by the Marine Resources Committee, she said.
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