Lobster Release July 2023

Each year at the end of the lobster season, the monastic and lay community of Gampo Abbey, with the financial support of many donors around the world, purchase the last catch of lobsters from Pleasant Bay lobster fisherman, Captain Mark Timmons, and release the caught lobsters back into the water. On July 6, 2023 we released 190 pounds of lobsters, about 100 lobsters, back into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The ceremony starts with a purification blessing and the recitation of the Heart Sutra and then one by one we put lobsters into the water.

We are very grateful for the donations that we receive each year to support this ancient Buddhist tradition of live release.