BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 16, 2022
A recent survey of more than 100 Down East lobstermen and shellfish harvesters, conducted by University of Maine at Machias professor Tora Johnson and presented at the Northern Light Research Expo last month, polled 106 lobstermen and shellfish harvesters in Hancock and Washington counties. It found that barriers to medical care in the injury-prone industry are likely significant contributors to addiction and overdose. “What we are hearing is a vast majority of harvesters have trouble finding access to the health care that they need.”