The Downeast Maine fleet is mourning the loss of one of its own after a longtime Steuben lobsterman was found dead in the water.
63-year-old Thomas West was discovered in Dyer Bay early Wednesday morning near his 35-foot lobster boat Aces and Eights. The Maine Department of Marine Resources said West was found around 6 am after a search effort that began the night before, when local fishermen reported his vessel running with no one aboard.
Maine Marine Patrol launched a search on Tuesday night, deploying a remotely operated vehicle to scan the area near the moored boat. The effort was suspended in the early morning hours due to low visibility but was set to resume before West’s body was ultimately located by family members and brought aboard a relative’s vessel, according to News Center Maine.
Fo those who worked alongside him, the loss hits close to home. “I went out to fill my wood boiler, and I heard his boat still running out there,” said fellow fisherman Glenn Robinson. “We went aboard and checked on him, that's when we discovered he was missing.”
Robinson, who grew up with West, described him as a steady and familiar presence on the water. “He was a hard worker… he took care of his family, and he put his time in,” he said
Other fishermen echo that sentiment, pointing to both his experience and personality. “He was a veteran, he knew what he was doing,” said Charles Kelley, a local fisherman. "You know I grew up with Tommy, same class in school together.” Another friend, Matt Falabella, remembered West as someone who “tried to make people laugh.”
West came from a long line of fishermen, rooted in Maine’s coastal communities, and spent his life working the same waters where he was ultimately found. In the days following his death, fellow fishermen planned to help retrieve his gear– an effort that shows the tight-knit nature of the industry.
“They may not like each other on the water, but they do when something happens like this,” Robinson said. “Everybody gets together.”
As the investigation continues, those who knew him say his absence leaves a lasting void on Dyer Bay and beyond.
