Man Relocates 35,000 Lobsters During Dredging Of Portland Harbor
The year was 1998. The Portland Harbor in Maine needed to be dredged for shipping, but there were an estimated 35,000 lobsters in the path of a new channel.
Enter: Joe Payne.
Payne led the charge to relocate the tens of thousands of lobsters before their habitat was destroyed. The action was applauded by lobster fishermen and the business community alike; it minimized the damage from the much-needed dredge project.
As the first employee of the Friends of Casco Bay, a grassroots organization, Payne’s life work has been to protect the fishing, commerce, and natural resources of the region.
It’s not only about lobsters. Among Payne’s many achievements, he launched a service to keep sewage out of Casco Bay; sampled storm water runoff for pesticides washing into the bay (to support an education program to limit lawn chemicals); and he worked to raise awareness of the threat of coastal acidification from runoff.
Payne was bestowed the Environmental Merit Award by the EPA in 2011 for his life’s work.
For more than 20 years, Payne has been the “eyes, ears and voice of Casco Bay,” noted a River Network statement.
