This fisherman’s bullet buoy evokes a complex dilemma. The buoy apparently broke away from its lobster trap line before we found it on Great Cove’s shore last week. There seems to be more of this plastic foam flotsam washing up there since the federal Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan was implemented.
That evolving Plan is intended to reduce the number of appalling injuries and deaths associated with large whales being entangled in fishing gear. One of the Plan’s options is that lobster trap buoys be attached to their lines with a “weak link” (e.g., a swivel) that has a breaking strength of no greater than 600 pounds. These and other Plan requirements seem to have resulted in increased losses of lobster gear, which has unintended negative effects on both the environment and fishermen’s livelihoods. Striking the needed balance appears to be proving difficult. (Brooklin, Maine)