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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 2
October 2005
Where are the lobsters? Shed late, Maine catch slow to get started
HALLOWELL, ME - What"s going on with lobsters?
That was a much-talked about question in September as Maine lobstermen were still waiting for catch rates to indicate the start of the shedder run.
While no official landings were yet available from the Department of Marine Resources (DMR), dockside surveys confirm what fishermen had been seeing, according to Carl Wilson, DMR"s head lobster biologist. There was no summer shedder run.
"Landings in each of the months of June, July, and August were the lowest we"ve seen since 2001," Wilson said. "But April and May were some of the highest."
Since the lobster molt is water temperature dependent, Wilson pointed to data from the GoMOOS buoy system that tells the story.
April and May water temperatures were relatively warm, like 2002 when the run started in July. It looked like Maine was again in for an early shed, and a few lobsters molted and became available to the fishery.
But everyone remembers that much of May and June were cold and rainy, which slowed down the rate of water temperature warming. The water warming pattern became more similar to 2003 and 2004, when the shed was late and the run didn"t get going until late August.
Water temperature can affect the timing of the molt and how quickly it happens, Wilson said, but it doesn"t determine the availability of lobsters to the fishery.
Which leads to the next much-talked about question: What about a fall run?
Several indicators, such as the lobster settlement index and the inshore trawl survey, suggest Maine is coming off the period of peak abundance, Wilson said.
Despite the official 2004 landings that show a record catch of almost 71 million pounds, no one thinks the lobster catch was actually up last year.
The DMR collected more data since dealer reporting was mandatory for the first time. But lobstermen say their own records show they landed 15-20 percent fewer lobsters in 2004, and the fall catch was the strongest part of the year.
There"s no reason to think this fall period won"t bring several weeks of good catches, too, Wilson said, as the water cools and lobsters start moving.
The hard part to predict is volume, and how close production will come to meeting the expectations " some might say needs " of the industry.
Enforcement
Scrutiny of the enforcement effort is one consequence that seems to go with the territory when catches are off or effort reduction is talked about. Recent anonymous accusations of wrongdoing suggest this may be just such a time.
The Marine Patrol takes seriously any complaints, according to DMR Commissioner George Lapointe, and it gets information all of the time. Whether or not the allegations are anonymous or concern lobster rules or any other marine law, the Marine Patrol responds.
"Nobody has special privileges," Lapointe said. "They would enforce against my mother if she"d done something."
If an investigation finds that violations have taken place, summonses are issued and other appropriate legal steps are taken. Those actions are a matter of public record.
But, when there"s no evidence of illegal behavior and no charges get filed, the public is not necessarily aware that the Marine Patrol has done its job, Lapointe said.
"The Marine Patrol chases down and checks any information, as they did (with) this," he said.
Susan Jones
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