Crossing the Line: 1970's Lobster Wars on Cape Cod

19 May 2025 -- CAPE COD, MA -- Off the coast of Cape Cod in the early 1970s, tensions reached a boiling point in a fishing culture built on salt, grit, and fierce independence. John Our, son of Jack Our, a Chatham lobsterman, and Raymond Duarte, a Provincetown dragger fisherman, remember the days when tempers flared and men took matters into their own hands. What began as a regulation turned into a legend—the three-mile limit became not just a rule, but a line etched in nerve, defiance, and tenacity. This story is first in a series on gear conflict. ** Gear conflicts among fishermen trace back to the 18th century, giving rise to the three-mile limit—a regulation designed to keep mobile dragger nets away from the nearshore waters where lobster pots are anchored. By the 20th century, that line became more than a boundary; it marked a growing battleground between fixed-gear lobstermen and roaming dragger crews.