Cormac Hondros-McCarthy
Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019
Voices of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2019 is a project of Maine Sea Grant, The First Coast, College of the Atlantic, and the Island Institute, with support from the Maine Fishermen’s Forum Board of Directors.
Giulia Cardoso
Cormac Hondros-McCarthy, from Lowell, MA, is part of a team of engineers at LobsterLift LLC developing ropeless lobster traps to reduce the risk of whale entanglement.
Scope and Content Note
In this interview, he explains how their idea originated, how the technology works, and his hopes of collaborating with Maine lobstermen for sea trials and fine-tuning of the traps. He discusses how the project is aimed at reducing bycatch, specifically addressing the issue of entanglement of right whales in lobster fishing lines. Cormac says his goal is to create the next generation of fishing gear that is efficient and reduces the risk to marine species like right whales. He also emphasizes the importance of collaboration and encourages lobstermen to participate in finding solutions to protect both the species and their livelihoods.
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