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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 2
October 2006
ME poly rope exchange program survey set for October
KENNEBUNK, ME – “The Bottom Line Project” is the name of a voluntary rope exchange program designed to help defray the cost of replacing floating poly groundline, and Maine lobstermen should be watching their mailboxes for more information.
They can expect to receive two mailings from project organizers – a notice introducing and explaining the program that was set to be mailed in September and, separately, a survey to gauge how much interest there is in the program, which will probably be mailed in October.
As reported in the August issue of CFN, the survey was supposed to have been sent to lobstermen sometime in August. But that mailing was postponed when it was learned that the release of the final rule implementing changes to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) would be delayed until late-November, according to project manager Laura Ludwig of the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF).
The ALWTRP amendment is expected to widely prohibit the use of poly rope in groundlines between traps in trawls and the trailer or tailer warps for pairs.
The Bottom Line Project survey will be important because it will tell the GOMLF what lobstermen throughout the state need and want in terms of rope replacement assistance.
Ludwig explained that the reimbursement value of a pound of rope will be determined based on how many lobstermen return their surveys and indicate they will participate in the rope exchange program.
To be clear, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) recently sent out an “Endline Risk Analysis Survey.” Ludwig is hoping lobstermen won’t confuse the two.
The endline survey is meant to help DMR get ready for what will likely be the next phase of whale protection measures after the ALWTRP amendment is released. Many expect environmentalists to press for a reduction in the number of vertical lines in the water.
The Bottom Line Project survey “is a separate issue and is a separate survey,” Ludwig said.
Zones affected
While the rope exchange program will start in the southern part of the state, Ludwig stressed that it will be available for all lobstermen, including Downeast fishermen, because the ALWTRP final rule could affect the entire coast.
However, she pointed out that since 2002, 14 out of 19 Dynamic Area Management (DAM) closures were imposed in the southern part of the state – 14 in Maine Lobster Zone G and five in Zone F. Four of those DAM closures affected state waters fishermen in Zone G.
Ludwig has been meeting with rope dealers and recycling companies. A meeting with rope dealers will be held at the end of October to get their input on how they will participate in the program.
For more information on the voluntary poly groundline exchange program, call Ludwig directly at (207) 263-5300 or the GOMLF office at (207) 985-8088 or e-mail Ludwig at <laura@gomlf.org>.
Rosanne Mizzoni
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