JONESPORT — A marine scientist, a politician and a lobsterman walked onto a dock. Together, in frigid wind chill, they pulled experimental, ropeless lobstering gear from the water — gear that most lobstermen loathe.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources held its first public demonstration day last Tuesday, where anyone — in and out of the industry — could see how the gear, still being developed, might work. And for some lobstermen, it felt like the first time the state was listening.

State officials and representatives of fishing groups weren’t there to convince anyone that the equipment, meant to curb whale entanglements, works. They knew it would be a losing battle.

The traps get plunged into the water and sink to the bottom, untethered to buoys on the surface. With the tap of a button, they can be summoned to rise up to the surface.

The lobstermen were skeptical, at best.

Rory Morgan, a marine science specialist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, offered lobstermen the chance to try it for themselves.

“No,” lobsterman Frank Smith laughed in response. “I don’t want to touch it.”

Morgan laughed, too.

“That’s OK,” she said with a smile.

Around 30 lobstermen attended the event. Most stayed in the warmth of a local church, where organizers were holding informal feedback sessions. They were uninterested in seeing demonstrations of gear in a setting that is unlike reality. But they were eager to share their feedback — which researchers welcomed, hoping it can help the gear become the best it can be.

At the end of the day, the organizers deemed the event a success — even without getting all eyes on the gear.

THE DEMISE OF THE DANGLING ROPE

For years, federal regulators have said that traditional lobstering gear poses severe — and sometimes lethal — threats to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that fishing-gear entanglement is the primary cause of serious injury and death among whales. As of October 2024, NOAA estimates there are just 370 right whales left.

Maine fishermen have contended that their gear has not contributed to these cases, nor do they ever see whales out on the water.

That is, until last year, when Maine fishing gear was linked to the death of a right whale for the first time. In January 2024, a right whale washed up on a beach near Martha’s Vineyard tangled in identifiable Maine lobstering gear, confirmed by NOAA and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. In October, federal officials concluded that the whale had died from “chronic entanglement” in the Maine gear.

Researchers say that one of the most important ways to prevent entanglements is by reducing vertical lines in the ocean — when rope connects traps on the sea floor to buoys at the surface that help lobstermen locate them.

NOAA has pushed for new regulations that lobstermen fear would bar them from using traditional trap-and-buoy lobster gear that requires vertical lines, though officials cannot draft new whale-protection rules until 2029.

If that is the case, they would likely have to turn to the alternative gear that the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Sunrise County Economic Council showed off Tuesday.

ROPED IN

A group of marine science specialists with the marine resources department began dragging the heavy, experimental traps down to a dock at the town marina at noon.

There were five different kinds of gear from various manufacturers. Two were deployed with magnets, another floated to the surface with air bags.

They were all sending data to applications on tablets — and ideally down the line, smart phones — where the traps can be found through geolocation. With a click on the screen, a signal is sent down and the alternative traps float to the surface. Then, lobstermen can haul out the rest of the trawl, the traps attached to one another with a horizontal rope on the seafloor.

Brooke Hachey, a gear coordinator with the Sunrise Council, and DMR’s Morgan, Emily Patrick and Megan Shapiro were in charge of the demonstrations. Over the course of four hours, they threw the different traps in 10 feet of water off the dock, 10 times. They took time to explain how each trap worked, how to set them up, how to use the app, and how to make sure it was safe to send them down.

They’d then get on their hands to drag the traps back in — and start all over for the next group.

Lobstermen Frank Smith and his son Tyler were the first witnesses of the day.

“There’s been a lot of talk about this and what’s happening to the fishery. We want to see what it is, what it is all about, and see what we have to be worried about,” Tyler Smith said.

Frank Smith kicked off the demonstration with the belief that it wouldn’t work at all. Once it floated to the top, he had other worries. Will the gear work in deeper waters? How will tides move the traps and then impact the ability to find them? Will nearby traps make it harder to find and haul their own? And he believes that the process — geolocating, getting through the application, and then resetting the trap to send it back down — will add far too much time to fishing operations.

The department spent months preparing. They were ready to show off the gear. They were ready to answer the many questions. They were ready to listen. And they were ready to set the record straight.

GEARING UP FOR THE GEAR

Other lobstermen huddled around tables at the Community of Christ, down the street from the town marina. Some wore clothing with the logos of their boats and Patriots merch. One wore a “Don’t Tread On Me” t-shirt — a right-wing symbol of eschewing governmental interference.

With free donuts and coffee in hand, the lobstermen shared their doubts about the viability of the gear. Marine Resources staff were joined by groups that advocate for conservation efforts and the economic sustainability of Maine’s historic fishery like the Island Institute, the Sunrise Council and Maine Sea Grant.

Together, they took in feedback. Over the course of the event, organizers would write out the concerns, questions and feedback on large pads of paper, to inform the process of creating and utilizing the gear.

There was also the opportunity for fact-checking beliefs and statements.

The marine scientists said they tried to do so with no judgment and no pushback.

But as the middleman between Maine’s industry and federal regulators, the department sometimes struggles to build trust with industry members.

That’s where Dean Faulkingham came in. Faulkingham has been lobstering in Jonesport for over 20 years. And last December, he began working as a volunteer with the Department of Marine Resources to test out the gear. He’s spent the last two months testing it 25 times along with his regular fishing operations.

Faulkingham is one of eight fishermen participating in the program — and receiving a small stipend to do so. Kevin Staples, a gear researcher at Marine Resources said that most volunteers have been nervous about the social repercussions of announcing their involvement.

Faulkingham is the first to publicize his role in the research.

He’s seen the gear that works. And he’s seen the gear that doesn’t. He spent a great deal of time explaining the realities of what using the gear is like. He’s seen the shortcomings and what potential there is to make it better.

James Smith, another Jonesport lobsterman who has been fishing for over 40 years, asked about the specs and what the experience of using the gear is like. He also shared many doubts.

“It’s going to be a long while before this really works,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see how this is all enforced. I’m not looking forward to it.”

PART OF THE PROCESS 

Faulkingham answered as many questions as he could. He admitted when he wasn’t sure. And he isn’t endorsing the gear whole-heartedly — though he did say he hasn’t had “any real problems” yet.

But he is committed to being a part of the process. He feels empowered by the opportunity to directly impact the research. And he hopes he can learn the answers to all of those questions in the future, for as long as Marine Resources will let him go.

“I feel like what I’m saying is being heard, rather than just you can come talk about it and then ‘too bad, you’re going to do it anyway.'” Faulkingham said. “There’s a lot of bugs to be worked out in the system. We’re still in the infancy of figuring any of this out. At least we’ve got fishermen giving voices and opinions on this.”

Kristin Garabedian, with the Island Institute, emphasized to the lobstermen that she wants involvement just like Faulkingham’s. Researchers aren’t looking for endorsements. They’re not expecting the lobstermen to be successful with the gear. They’re not looking for the lobstermen to drum up regulations.

They want help from real fishermen, who know the water and the needs best. And when all is said and done, researchers want to bring that data and feedback to NOAA in the hopes that federal regulators will take it all in.

“We need that data. We can stay here and have this conversation and already know it. You guys are on the water. You’re not telling us things that we don’t know, but we’ve got to be able to go back with information saying, ‘Hey, we tried it.’

“This is all data. The more that we can utilize this project to get gear in the water, up and down the coast, the more information this industry has in its back pocket,” Garabedian said. “We want this feedback. Should (any regulations) happen for whatever comes next, we want to be able to know ‘what does Maine need in these areas to make it feasible, to make it profitable, to make it make sense?'”

Morgan, Shapiro, Patrick and Hachey began hauling the gear back up the pier as the sun set and the temperature dropped. But they were more than eager to go again when James Smith came in at the very end for one last demonstration.

Unlike Frank and Tyler Smith, he did touch the gear. He got down on his hands and knees to help Hachey pull in the trap. And he left the demonstration still skeptical, but perhaps more curious.

When all was said and done, the foursome was shaking from the cold with red, wind-burned cheeks.

Despite the potential for frostbite, Morgan felt it was well worth the effort. And if even one more lobsterman showed up that night, she’d be excited to do it all again.

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