State fishing regulators overwhelmingly approved a first-of-its-kind seasonal lobstering ban to protect the North Atlantic right whale on Thursday — but exempted Vineyard.
With the North Atlantic right whale population at a dangerously low ebb, the state Division of Marine Fisheries is proposing a statewide seasonal ban on lobstering.
Southern New England lobster stocks have declined to record lows in recent years according to scientists and regulators, jeopardizing the future of a storied fishery.
At seven o’clock on a Sunday morning, most students would still be asleep. But Otto Osmers and Chris Mayhew were wide awake and eager to pull their 25 lobster pots obtained on a state student lobster permit.
Butter stained tables line the dock of Menemsha harbor where on summer evenings fresh lobsters are eaten off paper plates as the sun sets on another Vineyard day. Finger licking is required, bibs are optional.
Lobsters are a celebration says Larsen’s Fish Market owner Betsy Larsen.
For Danielle Pappas, volunteer at Grace Church’s weekly summer lobster roll sale, three words best describe the event.
“It’s hectic, hectic, hectic,” she said last Friday, making sure to speak loudly across the small, packed kitchen. The room rang with laughter as 20 or so volunteers, wearing aprons reading “Have you hugged an Episcopalian today?” worked feverishly.