The 46 tons of floating rope at Ellsworth Exchange has created trouble for lobstermen in Downeast maine. More than 10 lobstermen traveled to Ellsworth to get rid of miles of the rope that has them entangled with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Last year the fisheries service has ordered lobstermen fishing along much of the Maine coast to replace the floating rope they use for the groundlines that connect traps together in a trawl.
According to NMFS the main purpose for the change is that endangered right whales and other large whales are snared by loops of floating groundline when they dive to the sea floor. It is said that the cost of changing over to sink rope is anticipated to reach $10,000 to $15,000 per fishermen.
It was the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF), a nonprofit organization established by the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, who brought its rope exchange program to Ellsworth to help lobstermen with the cost of rigging over. Laura Ludwig, executive director of GOMLF, called the Ellsworth exchange a resounding success. According to him many of the lobstermen who failed to make it this time will get another chance this summer.
