Two lobstermen and two crew members have been arraigned for allegedly cutting dozens of lobster traps last fall.
In addition to an impending court case, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) says it has handed down suspensions to the two licensed lobstermen: 22-year-old Nicholas Wood, of Penobscot, has been suspended from the fishery for three years, and 56-year-old Walter Foster, of Castine, has requested a hearing on his case.
Jeff Nichols with the DMR says the victim in this case lost 71 traps.
"The financial loss is significant, obviously,” Nichols says. “We're talking thousands of dollars in lost property, and also when you lose traps, you lose the opportunity to make money with those traps...so it's a significant violation."
If found guilty, the men face a potential year in prison, a $2000 fine, plus more than $7000 in compensation.
Nichols says it is not clear what led to this particular incident, but he says rivalry and turf wars are often a factor in similar cases.
