April 13, 2013 — The state's current policy stops fishermen from landing their catch at home in Maine.
Portland's wharves tell the story of Maine's struggling groundfish industry. Where dozens of commercial fishing boats once tied up, you might find only one or two today.
That is mostly a result of the collapse of groundfish stocks and their slow rebound under tight federal regulations. New England is asking for disaster relief funds for the fishery — and it's a disaster not just for the fishermen, but also for the businesses that sold them food, gas and ice, repaired their engines and sold and processed their catch.
But that's not the whole story. There are Maine boats you won't see tied up at Portland wharves anymore. Most of them are not landing their catch here; they are taking it to Massachusetts. In addition to the fish they scooped in their trawlers, they can sell incidentally caught lobsters, which they are prohibited from selling here.
Read the full editorial from the Portland Press Herald