Released lobsters retaken, group says
Caught at site of Buddhist ritual
By John M. Guilfoil
Globe Staff / August 9, 2011
On Thursday, a group of Buddhists traveled to Gloucester and purchased 534 lobsters, about 600 pounds worth, from a wholesaler and dumped them back into the sea in a prayer ceremony in which the crustaceans’ bands were cut and blessed water was sprayed on them.
Freedom. But it may have been short-lived.
Yesterday, lobstermen from the fishing vessel Degelyse said they had traveled to the site of the ceremony, laid their traps, and hauled up exactly 534 lobsters, according to a local blog, Goodmorninggloucester.org.
And then they brought their haul right back to market.
TA DA ! ! !
“It’s really not meant as a slight toward Buddhism at all,’’ said Joe Ciaramitaro, who runs the blog that broke the story and co-owns Captain Joe and Sons Dock, where the boat and several others offload their catch. He also runs Captain Joe and Sons Wholesale Lobster Co. in Gloucester. “We’re just having fun.’’
The Reuters news agency reported on the Buddhists’ release of the lobsters, which featured a group of 30 who boarded a whale-watching ship and conducted their ceremony.
The actions included prayers, mantras, and walking boxes of lobsters in a circle around blessed objects, which is designed to “develop a karmic connection for the animals’ future lifetimes.’’
“Even if they get captured again, they’ve had a longer life,’’ Wendy Cook, who helped lead the ceremony, told Reuters.
Cook did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.
In a video on Ciaramitaro’s blog, the lobstermen joke that the Buddhists are welcome to re-purchase the lobsters and release them again.
The captain of the Degelyse could not be reached for comment.
Ciaramitaro did not know how the crew ascertained the location of the Buddhist drop zone, but he admitted that the whole episode may have been a joke designed to break up the long days and hard work of fishing the Atlantic.
“The job is so tough, lobstering and being down the dock at 5 a.m. seven days a week, and it’s a lot of monotonous physical labor,’’ he said.
“Anything to break up the day and have some fun is what we’re all about. We’re not trying to antagonize them or anything like that.’’
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
