Federal Lobster Fascism

Small Maine lobstermen are being regulated out of business while the bigger ones manage to cope with regulations that add useless costs. My godson, a lobsterman, gave me the inside scoop on a visit to Maine last week for my oldest brother’s 50th wedding anniversary. New rules to sink the traps wear out lines much faster. Rules on where to set traps and how to set them. Rules on lobster sizes. Rules based on studies using government surveys that used totally flawed net techniques. Ignoring reputable studies out of Woods Hole. A year or two ago it was rules that required expensive new lines. None of it, I was told, adds a thing to safety or proper management of the lobster inventory except costs. Did I say dissolve the U.S. government?

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