Lobstermen

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine's 2nd District listens to lobstermen speak at a rally on the Portland waterfront on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.

With 98 square miles of water and 39 islands, the bay is vital to shorebirds, fish, lobstermen and outdoor recreationists.

But the high participation rate didn’t net Maine lobstermen a lot of money, with the average small PPP loan to lobster fishermen working out to be just $10,900 each, data show.

The problem is especially acute in the lobster industry, according to Rock Alley, president of the Maine Lobstering Union Local 207. Lobstermen are “not able to move much product,” Alley said this week.

But it added up to a whole lot for Nova Scotia lobstermen in December 1989.

The state’s $434 million fishery is divided into seven geographic zones governed by zone councils made up of state-licensed lobstermen.