Maine fishermen are, for the most part, a stoic lot, but they make their opinions known when they feel their livelihood is threatened. In the St. George village of Port Clyde, Randy Cushman has painted a message on his trawler, the Ella Christine. Maine Aqua Ventus has proposed a wind farm near Monhegan Island, with cables cables from the turbines coming ashore in St. George. Several months ago, the state of Maine received a $2 million federal grant to conduct a comprehensive planning process, called Maine’s Offshore Wind Roadmap, intended to “focus on planning and data-gathering to support siting decisions, with the goal of minimizing potential effects on the environment and fisheries.” Lobstermen, who fear wind turbines will disrupt the ocean ecosystem and put them out of business, want the road map completed before any wind farms are considered for approval.
On Route 3 Trenton, meanwhile, a lobsterman selling firewood makes a tongue-in-check reference to another issue—fishery management plans that would require changes in fishing gear in order to protect right whales.
