A lobster fisherman from Orland has pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally harvested undersized lobster, breeding lobster and had 20 traps belonging to another fisherman.

Theodore Gray, 34, entered his plea and was sentenced on Oct. 17 in Ellsworth District Court to serve two days in jail and pay a $50,000 fine.

He is scheduled to begin serving his jail term on Dec. 31 at the Hancock County Jail, according to the Department of Marine Resources, which announced his sentence in a news release.

Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher also suspended Gray’s license for three years, beginning June 23.

“This was one of the most extreme cases involving violation of our state’s marine resources laws anyone in the department or the Marine Patrol can remember,” Keliher said in a statement. “Not only is he now facing major fines and jail time, through his actions he has lost the privilege of earning a living harvesting Maine lobsters for three years. This case sends a strong message that the state of Maine will use all the tools at its disposal to find and remove lawbreakers from the water and to support the work of law abiding fishermen who work to sustain our vital marine resources.”

The Maine Marine Patrol and the Maine Warden Service began investigating Gray in May and charged him with two misdemeanors for possession of 123 v-notched, or breeding, lobsters and 269 lobsters smaller than the legal minimum. They also charged Gray with a civil violation of molesting lobster gear for possessing another fisherman’s lobster traps.

Maine law requires that undersize lobster be released immediately. The law also requires that fishermen who catch female lobsters with eggs use a v-notch tool or knife to remove a quarter-inch-deep portion from the flipper immediately to the right of the center one and return the lobster to the water.


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