YORK, Maine — A glut of lobsters has dropped prices so low some Maine fishermen want a shutdown of the industry, prompting the commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources this week to issue warnings against lobster wars and antitrust violations.
The department has no authority to close the lobster fishery for economic reasons, Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a released statement.
"We have heard that fishermen are seeking to impose a de facto shutdown of the fishery and coercing others into complying by threatening to cut off their gear," Keliher said. "The state will not tolerate any trap molestation, and any such actions will be met with targeted and swift enforcement or other appropriate action."
Further, any action by lobstermen to force a shutdown could be deemed in violation of federal antitrust laws, he said.
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