A small crowd gathered around a large cardboard box at Memorial Wharf in Edgartown. Sharon Gamsby opened the box, revealing over 100 live lobsters who only hours before were destined for sale. Instead, these lobsters would be released into the Edgartown Harbor — and given another chance at life.
Ms. Gamsby and Barbara Dacey founded the annual lobster release, which is in its fifth year, as an extension of the center’s mission.
“It’s about raising awareness,” Ms. Gamsby said. “No one is telling anyone what to do. . . But people should be aware that they [the lobsters] are beings.”
Before the lobsters were released, they were blessed by Trinlay Rinpoche, who has taught classes at Bodhi Path Buddhist Center for a few weeks each summer for the last seven years. The title of Rinpoche, which means he is a reincarnation of a previous Buddhist master, was bestowed upon him when he was three years old. He is a European national, and according to him one of only two or three western Rinpoches in the world.
“I am particularly sensitive to the treatment of lobsters,” he said. “They are boiled alive and eaten. . . and they are such sensitive animals.”
To bless the lobsters, Trinlay Rinpoche poured herb-infused saltwater over them and whispered a prayer. Others in the crowd were given the same opportunity to have their moments with the lobsters before they were gently lowered into the swell and taken away by the tide. The lobsters had a small notch taken from their tail, a sign of an egg-bearing female, to indicate to fishermen that they are not for sale.
“It’s about expressing our good human qualities,” Trinlay Rinpoche said. “We are both part of a whole ecosystem and environment that is important for all, not just humans.”
He pointed out that on the Island, lobsters are consumed at a higher rate than most places. However, he added that in his experience, the people of the Island are also more open to change. Though he understands people will continue to eat and sell lobsters, he hopes that this event can open people up to the idea that the lobsters are sentient beings who feel pain and wish to live.
As the last lobster descended to the ocean floor, Trinlay Rinpoche and the crowd drifted off the dock and back toward their homes. Below the water, the lobsters also drifted, one way or another with the tide, back toward their homes in the sea.
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