Electric lobsters

I just spent time at the Lobster Institute's Town Hall meeting in Portland. Very informative and useful, it was good to hear from a wide variety of industry participants, not just the fisherman. Probably the most important conclusion is the importance of effective marketing to overcome the over supply of lobster (hence the low prices). Several people recommended a five cent per pound levy. The Wild Blueberry Association presented their marketing results, which are outstanding. I proposed that the industry lobby Augusta to establish a levy, and work cooperatively with Canada, who is considering the same approach. The Promotion Council should not be a government bureaucracy, but independent and controlled by those in the industry. It should be a lot easier to get Augusta to do this than trying to convince grid-locked Washington, populated by inland state politicians, to accomplish anything

A concern with in-water wind turbines is whether the underwater cabling would have an adverse impact on the lobster fishery. Bob Bayer, from the Lobster Institute and Univ. of Maine, kindly sent me some resources. From my reading of the document, it appears these issues on Criehaven and Matinicus will be minimal. There is some bottom disruption as the cables are buried, but that appears to be similar to after a bad storm. We are not going to have dense cabling or underwater substations, which appear to be more problematic. More research should be done.

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So much for the on island "good news". I'm enjoying the fireplace while the rain blasts my windows on island. Now for some really "bad news", GM, aka Government Motors, has just announced a 556 hp station wagon! Blech. GM goes bust because of follies like the Hummer, and now this, with our tax dollars?