ELLSWORTH, Maine — In response to a request from Canadian lobster processors, a judge in New Brunswick on Thursday granted a 10-day injunction against protesting fishermen to prevent them from blockading processing plants in the province.
The fishermen have prevented the plants from accepting deliveries of lobster from Maine, where a glut of soft-shell lobsters has pushed prices down to their lowest point in decades. Canadian lobstermen say the low price of Maine lobsters is driving down prices in Canada and stealing their livelihood.
The protests over lobster prices flared up last week, when hundreds of fishermen held demonstrations in Cap-Pele and Shediac, New Brunswick, and trucks were prevented from delivering Maine lobsters to three processors. The demonstrations spilled over into Prince Edward Island, where at least two lobster processors agreed to stop processing Maine product.
U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe released a statement Thursday afternoon, calling the injunction “welcome news” for Maine lobstermen and truckers. The injunction limits protests at plants to six people and requires them to stay at least 200 feet from the facilities, the statement indicated.
Snowe said she hopes a more permanent resolution to the Canadian price dispute can be reached while the injunction is in place.
“While we work on a long-term solution, I am hopeful that the Canadian government will enforce this injunction and provide the resources to ensure that commerce can also return to normal,” Snowe said.
Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said Thursday that the organization was “very excited” to hear the injunction had been granted.
“It’s a huge development that we can get back to normal,” McCarron said. “To have Maine products flow freely to those [processors] will help restore normal trade.”
She said the protesting lobstermen fish in a zone along the Northumberland Strait between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island that is open to lobster fishing for 10 weeks in late summer and early fall. The area’s fishing season was due to start today, she said, but now it is expected to open on Monday, Aug. 13.
McCarron said it has been “hugely stressful” to Maine fishermen to be blocked out of the market at a time when the price they are getting for their catch is so low. Now, she added, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has to “step up to the plate” to ensure that the injunction is enforced.
Meredith Mendelson, deputy commissioner for the Maine Department of Marine Resources, said Thursday that the injunction is a good step toward resolving the crisis. She said the processors could request that the injunction be extended another 10 days if necessary.
“We are optimistic that this injunction will be a key component of moving forward,” Mendelson said. “We’re hoping 10 days will be enough to solve the situation.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins also released a statement Thursday, saying she intends to stay in contact with the State Department to help make sure there is a full resolution to the Canadian price dispute.
“Specifically, we must have assurances that our lobstermen will have full access to processing facilities throughout the region and after the 10-day injunction is over,” Collins said.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree issued her own release stating that on Thursday she had asked the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to provide increased protection for trucks bringing Maine lobster to processing plants in Canada. Pingree said that in a letter to RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, she asked for police escorts for the trucks until the volatile situation in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island cools down.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
Does anyone really believe that the Canadian police are going to solve the problem? It was the Canadian processors, and not Canadian lobstermen, who are behind the depressed prices in Maine and who are now using that depressed price to depress the price paid Canadian lobstermen as well. Armed guards delivering cheap Maine lobsters to Canadian processors–lobsters for which Maine lobstermen do not receive even a minimally acceptable price–does that look like an answer?
I think we need to bring in the U.S. Military.
I think we should completely close our border crossings with New Brunswick until they can think straight, which could be forever.
at least the canadien lobster fishermen have the balls too stand up for themselves and dont want too fish for nothing.maine fishermen are willing too go drain there lobster so fish buyers can get rich.if maine fishermen are happy now they can go fishing .but think of what the canadiens tried too do. help all fishermen get a better price . if maine fishermen would have tied up for a week or two the prossesors and buyers would not be taking advantige of all fishermen canadien and american. so give your lobster away not me.
I say we send no logs to Canada. It would take about one day and we would be sending lobsters under armed guard. The Quebec mills could not operate without Maine softwood logs.
why don’t we have our own processing plants?
Good question. It seems to me that someone could have a successful operation if they opened up a processing plant. Catching Lobsters in Maine, shipping them off to Canada for processing and then sending it back to Maine doesn’t make much sense to me.
NAFTA (north american fair trade act) only works one way
Canadian products flooding our side of the border
And when the USA wants to ship products the other way the canadians protest
Maybe it`s time to trash NAFTA and place a tariff on all canadian products
I agree. The only thing that NAFTA’s accomplished has been the driving of the final nail in the coffin of US jobs.
It’s tempting to do just that but right now we are selling a pile of stuff to the Canadians in spite of the huge amount of oil we buy from them and with our economy what it is we shouldn’t start a trade war with our largest market.
We need to strengthen our existing processors here in Maine and generate new markets for lobster so they can buy excess lobster. That will help create jobs right here in this state.
get em while they are cheap,it wont last.gonna buy a few off the truck today.things will even out soon,they always do.
Snowe and Pingree have gained some ground. But where is Le Page?
Too busy doodling notes for his inflammatory Sunday radio spiel. Meanwhile, Adrienne Bennett, his spokesperson, stocks the medicine cabinet with enough headache buffers to help her explain what she thought, he thought, he was attempting to say.
Why does the State of Maine, the biggest lobster producer in the United States, have to take our lobsters to a foreign country’s processing plant?
Where is “We’re Open For Business?” In two and half years Le Page and his cohorts have done nothing to tackle real business problems. His tea party agenda doesn’t permit that. Whilst he spends his time condemning the state and its people, Charlie Summers is busily attempting to throttle the vote with ID cards, cutting early voting, and getting older voters off the highways.
Canada is untouchable to Le Page. He lets them do anything they wish. Thousands of gallons of oil destined for Irving, cross our state almost weekly. The freight is pulled across lines which are barely safe enough to carry empty freight cars. The shipments are apparently of no environmental concern to this governor and his clique.
The Le Page-Vigue proposed East West Highway is yet another Le Page link with his Canadian allies. Anything goes. Besides trucks – what else do the conspirators propose to use the 220-mile, 2,000 wide cut for? Oil and gas lines? Oh – they don’t have all the details yet? No, but they know it will be 200-miles long with limited access. No eminent domain – just a Right of Way?
Wake up people. Wake up Augusta.