WATCH Maine Lobster Fishermen Rally To Protect Frenchman Bay From Salmon Farm
The waters from Gouldsboro to Lamoine are precious fishing grounds for many hard-working Maine families, and a show of force this past Sunday displayed just how important those folks believe those waters really are.
You have to live in complete ignorance of the times if you haven't taken notice of the signs displayed in front yards across Hancock County that shout "Save The Bay."
Fishermen along with area residents are concerned about the proposed industrial fish farm that would be run by American Aquafarms, a company from Norway that would produce 66 million pounds of salmon annually within 15, 150-foot diameter fish pens located off the coast of Gouldsboro in Frenchman Bay.
Frenchman Bay is the one with the majestic mountains of Acadia in the background and hundreds of vacation homes located on its shores. It's the one where the whale watching excursions depart from and where hundreds of Maine families make their living within. The one that generates millions of dollars of income for the area already.
So it was no surprise that Maine lobster fishermen made their feelings known this past Sunday by creating a 135 boat flotilla that circled within the middle of Frenchman Bay.
The fishermen have seemed to have their work cut out for themselves lately with both the proposed salmon fish farm and newly released rules to protect the North Atlantic Right Whale from extinction.
But as always there is strength in numbers and for the common landlubber, it was quite an impressive sight to see this past Sunday in the waters of Frenchman Bay.