For their part, the lobster fishermen assert that the trawlers can barely be considered legitimate.
Boyah began his career in the early 1990s as a lobster fisherman.
Each lobster fisherman has his or her own color markings or registration numbers so they know which ones are theirs.
Billy Carman, her husband and a lobster fisherman, recalled two friends who couldn't get out fast enough when their boat suddenly sank.
After seasons of pulling up almost empty traps, some lobster fishermen in the region have sold their boats and sought other work.
It's unclear how many fewer lobster fishermen there are actually fishing this year.
It's unclear how many fewer lobster fishermen there are plying the waters this year.
The declaration enables Congress to appropriate funds for the lobster fishermen and to conduct research into the cause of the deaths.
Her husband, Llewellyn, a lobster fisherman, is descended from one of the island's original families.
A former base for the US military, they are now mostly visited by lobster fishermen.