1 min read

Season 3, Episode 165

Maine lobster union argues right whales no longer in fishing grounds

Maine lobster Local 207

 

Guest Name:

Virginia Olsen

Guest Website:

www.mainelobsteringunion.com

Guest Social Media:

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Virginia Olsen, Political Director and Executive Liaison for the Maine Lobstering Union (MLU) Local 207, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed how strict fishing regulations to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale have placed the Maine lobster industry in jeopardy.

 

The MLU is a division of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District 4 and is the only association-based cooperative in the lobster industry owned and operated by Maine lobstermen.

Maine’s lobster fishing region stretches about 40 miles off the shoreline. Though right whales frequently visited the area years ago, Olsen argued the whales no longer congregate in these fishing grounds due to climate change, warming waters and the fact that their food source has moved further offshore. She made the case that restricting fishing in the area would decimate the Maine lobster industry for no good reason.

Olsen also then discussed the lobster industry’s concerns regarding offshore wind power in the Gulf of Maine and how the sounds and vibrations could impact the migration, feeding and breeding of lobsters. 

Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.


America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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