缅因州龙虾产业正面临压力(上)

"We have to go where the lobsters want to go... the rockier, the craggier, that's where we want to be putting our traps," says Ali Desjardin, as she pulls up a lobster trap from the ocean floor.

“我们必须去龙虾想去的地方……我们要在岩石更多，更陡峭的地方放置陷阱，“阿里·德斯贾丁一边说，一边从海底捞出一个龙虾陷阱。

She grabs a gauge to measure the area from the rear of the eye socket down the length of the back.

她抓起一个量规，测量龙虾眼窝后方到背部的长度。

Any lobsters kept must have backs between 3.25 inches and 5 inches (12.7cm) long.

所有养殖龙虾的背部长度必须在3.25英寸到5英寸(12.7厘米)之间。

Everything else is returned to the sea.

其他的都要放回到大海中。

Females carrying eggs are also tossed back, a regulation Maine lobsterman put in place in 1872.

携带龙虾卵的雌性龙虾也会被抛回海中，这是缅因州1872年开始实施的一项规定。

Lobstermen notch females with a v to indicate to other fishermen that they are needed breeders.

龙虾渔民在雌性龙虾身上刻上v字，向其他渔民表明，她们是必要的繁殖者。

A purple rope, known as a line, attaches the trap to a floating buoy.

一条被称为吊绳的紫色绳索将陷阱连接到漂浮的浮标上。

Allegations about this line are rocking the entire lobster industry in Maine.

对于这条吊绳的指控震动了缅因州的整个龙虾产业。

Earlier this month Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, a California programme which advises consumers and businesses on what marine life to eat, placed the Atlantic lobster on its "avoid" list.

本月早些时候，加利福尼亚州蒙特利湾水族馆的“海鲜观察”项目将大西洋龙虾列入了“避免食用”的名单。该项目为消费者和企业能够食用何种海洋生物提供建议。

According to Seafood Watch, the lines used in lobster fishing can entangle the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

海鲜观察组织表示，捕捞龙虾时使用的吊绳可能会缠住濒临灭绝的北大西洋露脊鲸。

Outraged Maine lobstermen say they have not had an entanglement with a right whale in nearly two decades.

愤怒的缅因州龙虾渔民表示，他们已经近20年没有与露脊鲸有过纠葛。

Most say they have never even seen one.

大多数人说，他们甚至从未见过露脊鲸。

"It's been extraordinarily frustrating," says Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen's Association, an advocacy group.

缅因州倡导团体，龙虾渔民协会的帕特里斯·麦卡伦说：“这非常令人沮丧。”

"We pride ourselves on being stewards of the resource."

我们为自己是资源的管理者而感到自豪。

Since 1997 lobstermen have removed 30,000 miles (48,000km) of rope from the water, weakened remaining lines so that whales can break free, incorporated "weak leaks" and "weak inserts" in and below the buoys, and added distinct markings to trace any entangling gear to the specific fishery responsible for it.

自1997年以来，龙虾渔民已经从水中移走了30,000英里(即48,000公里)的绳索，削弱了剩余绳索的伤害性，以便鲸鱼可以挣脱，他们在浮标内和浮标下方加入了“弱渗漏”和“弱插入”装置，并添加了明显的标记，以追踪所有可能造成缠绕的装置，确定缅因州的龙虾捕捞装置是否存在责任。

They have also cut the number of lobster traps.

他们还减少了龙虾捕捞的数量。

Curt Brown, a lobsterman and marine biologist, said at a recent press conference that: "Maine lobstermen have probably put in more effort, more time and more money than any group in this country to protect right whales."

科特·布朗是一名龙虾渔民和海洋生物学家，他在最近的一次新闻发布会上说：“缅因州的龙虾渔民在保护露脊鲸方面投入的精力、时间和金钱可能比这个国家的任何其它群体都多。”