Jason Joyce: Who Is The Maine Lobsterman Speaking At The 2020 RNC?

Jason Joyce, a Maine lobsterman, is scheduled to address the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night.

President Donald Trump has lately made overtures to the fishing industry and tweeted about the lobster industry in Maine as recently as Tuesday morning. In June, he reversed protections for a 5,000-square-mile section of the ocean in a bid to open it to fishing, in response to what he described as China’s “assault on the American lobster industry,” in a presidential memorandum.

Joyce, a lifelong man of the sea, believes that Trump’s policies have benefited him and other men in his industry.

He Supports President Trump’s Policies Aimed At Helping The Maine Lobster Industry

In June, as The Bangor Daily News reported, the lobster industry, which is one of the largest and most iconic of Maine’s industries, was in crisis. Due to tariffs imposed by Europe and China arising out of a trade war by Trump, whom the newspaper described as “protectionist,” Maine lobstermen such as Jason were losing business to Canadian fishers, who could sell their product without tariffs.

One local business owner, Stephanie Nadeau, said at the time, via a companion Bangor Daily News report, that she had to lay off half of her 14-person workforce.

“They picked winners, and they picked losers, and they picked me a loser. There is no market that’s going to replace China,” she said.

However, just last Friday, the Trump administration and the European Union struck a deal that eliminates those tariffs, potentially opening up the European market to Maine lobsters once again.

In another Trump administration move that could potentially benefit men and women like Jason and Stephanie, back in June the president signed a memo that would send financial aide to the struggling industry to offset the loss of income from the European and Chinese tariffs; as the Bangor newspaper noted, however, that money has yet to arrive.

It remains unclear what Joyce intends to say about the policies and/or how they affected or will affect him. Reached by a reporter, he said that he didn’t have time to talk due to a tight travel schedule. He did say, however, that his address would have been pre-recorded in Washington, D.C. The convention, though much of it is virtual, is being held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

His Family Has Been Fishing In The Region For Centuries.

In 2012, The Bangor Daily News ran a feature article about Jason. In the piece, he noted that he’s an eighth-generation lobsterman, and that his family first moved to Swan’s Island, from which he bases his operations, in 1806.

“I was raised with a strong work ethic of: You really put your heart into it, and you do your best. You won’t fail. You may not make a great living, but you will make a good enough living to support your family. It’s a way of life people would pay money for, to be a part of a community like we are,” he said.

At the time, Joyce noted that lobstermen such as himself were dealing with a changing marketplace, which included price fluctuations due to supply and demand. He agreed that the the industry needed to expand its customer base in order to bring stability to lobster prices. Further, he said that he was on board with the suggestion that the industry increase the demand for “value-added” lobster products, such as frozen lobster tails, frozen lobster meat, lobster casserole or lobster pot pie. He noted that younger consumers are less likely to cook lobster the traditional way by boiling it whole.