ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) – Maine officials have agreed to shorten the lobster fishing ban around a Maine island from two weeks to four days in the aftermath of a turf war shooting.
Maine Marine Resources Commissioner George Lapointe said an agreement was reached in a Rockland courtroom Thursday to allow Matinicus Island’s 35 fishermen to resume pulling their traps on Monday.
In an unprecedented move, Lapointe imposed the cooling off period after 68-year-old Vance Bunker was charged with shooting fellow lobsterman Chris Young. Two other lobstermen then challenged the closure.
Lapointe and Marine Patrol Col. Joe Fessenden plan to visit Matinicus on Saturday in an effort to calm down tensions on the island, located more than 20 miles off midcoast Maine.
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