Lobsterman Shot, 77-Year-Old Arrested

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MATINICUS ISLAND, Maine -- A 77-year-old man from Matinicus Island is accused of shooting a fellow lobsterman Monday morning on the island.

Police arrested Edwin Bunker and charged him with elevated aggravated assault.

Edwin Bunker

Maine State Police said Bunker shot 38-year-old Chris Young in the neck while a Maine Marine Patrol officer was investigating a dispute between the two men.

Young was flown to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where he underwent surgery. Young is listed in stable condition.

Bunker posted bail.

Matinicus is about 20 miles off the coast of Rockland.

bigoutdoors · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:39 pm Post subject:

State shuts down Matinicus grounds

By Kim Lincoln
The Herald Gazette Reporter
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MATINICUS (July 21): For the first time in Maine history, the state has decided to close a area due to conflict.

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On Tuesday, Commissioner George Lapointe of the Maine Department of Marine Resources ordered the waters around Matinicus to be closed for two weeks to allow for a “cooling off period” for fishermen following a shooting on the island Monday morning, according to Col. Joseph Fessenden of the Maine Marine Patrol.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has closed waters around Matinicus, as marked on the above map, to for two weeks after a shooting on Monday injured an island . (Image courtesy of Department of Marine Resources)

Lobsterman Vance Bunker, 68, of Matinicus has been charged with elevated aggravated assault after police said he shot Chris Young, 41, another lobsterman on the island, in the neck.

Bunker has been released from jail on $125,000 real estate surety and is not allowed on Matinicus.

The dispute erupted because of traps being cut, according to Fessenden. The low price of lobster had nothing to do with the incident, Fessenden said.

The closure will begin a half-hour before sunrise on Thursday, July 23 and will end at midnight Thursday, Aug. 6. The closure will affect about 25 full-time lobstermen.

Island lobstermen were expected to be notified at about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Fessenden said the state decided to take action because of the violence on the island and traps being cut.

Unofficial territories where each has their own designated area have been in existence for about 100 years, Fessenden said. Generally, he said, the designations work well because they allow dozens of people in a community to run small businesses.

Matinicus fishermen spend a great deal of time protecting their ocean “bottom” and generally issues are resolved by fist fights, assaults, or other signs, he said.

“This is the first time someone has actually pulled the trigger,” Fessenden said.

Fessenden said he has worked 34 years for the Maine Marine Patrol and this is the first time a has been shot.

The Maine Marine Patrol, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Maine State Police and U.S. Coast Guard will provide 24-hour coverage of the island until at least the end of the week, maybe longer, to ensure no other problems erupt.

The Marine Patrol does a lot of surveillance work and watches for tampering with traps. If a person is caught cutting or tampering with traps, it is a mandatory loss of their lobster license for three years, Fessenden said.

History

In 2006, Victor Ames of Thomaston was charged with terrorizing and operating a watercraft to endanger, in an incident on Matinicus that caused another lobsterman, Joe Bray, to fire two warning shots toward Ames’ boat. Bray was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm.

Bray said at the time that he felt in danger because Ames had ridden by his boat and made throat-slashing gestures.

That incident was also allegedly set off because of traps being cut in the Matinicus waters.

Bray had asked the judge at that time to allow him to carry a weapon on his boat to protect himself, which he was no longer allowed to do because of bail conditions. The judge denied the request.

At a meeting prior to the incident, a group of Matinicus fishermen had agreed to carry weapons on their boats to protect themselves from Ames.

Currently a federal case is pending in U.S. District Court, which was filed by Ames. Ames is claiming that the group of island fishermen, along with members of the Department of Marine Resources, conspired to run him out of business after he hired a Vinalhaven man to tend his traps while Ames was recovering from surgery.

Those involved in the case are currently in disagreement over the terms of the potential settlement.

ctjeepinguy · Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject:

Not surprising. Lobster boats in Stoneington are being sunk. With Fishers Island (New York) off the coast, the two groups have been fighting over water rights for years.

skipperj9 · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:15 pm Post subject:

Point in hand, don't fcuk with commercial fisherman or their gear, because they'll fcuk back!