A Maine big game harvest tag dated 2021 has washed up on a beach in La Turballe, France, according to a post shared on Facebook.
The item, which reads “Maine Big Game 2021,” was originally posted by Beg Ar Minou in the All Things Lobstering Facebook group. In the post, Minou said it was found on a beach in France and asked whether it was for hunting or fishing.
The post was later shared by Taylor James in the Maine Deer Hunters Facebook group, where it drew attention from local sportsmen.
Photos shared with the post show the weathered item intact, with its Maine big game label still visible.
Maine deer biologist Nathan Bieber confirmed that a deer registered in 2021 matches the seal number. The buck was taken during the expanded archery season in Bath.
No additional details are known about where or when it entered the water or how it traveled across the Atlantic, though it may have come from a deer carcass used as bait by a lobster fisherman.
A review from Minou’s previous posts shows he has found similar tags, mostly fishing ones, from Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Massachusetts and several from Maine dating between 1999 and 2013.