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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 4
December 2006
RI adopts Area 2 lobster effort control plan
PROVIDENCE, RI – Moving to meet the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) demand to cap effort in the Area 2 lobster fishery, Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has approved a trap allocation program that will limit the number of traps fished by the state’s lobstermen.
DEM Director Michael Sullivan approved the plan, and regulations implementing the plan were officially added to state records on Oct. 23.
DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (F&W), which is the determining party in all trap allocations for fishing year 2007 and beyond, began accepting applications for Area 2 trap allocations from state residents on Nov. 12.
Sullivan’s approval of the plan was a long-awaited milestone in a tumultuous collaborative effort by industry and state managers to comply with Addendum VII to Amendment 3 to the interstate lobster management plan, which was approved by ASMFC in November 2005.
Massachusetts passed and implemented a similar trap allocation plan to comply with Addendum VII in the spring. The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council recommended the original trap allocation plan to the DEM in June.
Bob Ballou, Sullivan’s chief of staff, noted that the DEM head was thorough in his consideration of the plan.
“The director wanted to take a full and close look at the plan, so he could consider every impact,” Ballou said.
Time to move on
“It’s been interesting to witness the timeline,” said Elizabeth Kordowski, executive director of the Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association (RILA). “The guys can finally move forward with their business plans.”
Added Robert Bradfield, a RILA board member, “For guys who have fished full-time, this is the direction they wanted, and they just want to get going right now.”
Because complying with ASMFC’s effort-control mandate required significant limits on trap numbers and shutting some permit holders out of the fishery altogether, Rhode Island’s Area 2 plan was extremely controversial from the start, and some people still had reservations about it.
“I put my application in the mail two days after I received it,” said RILA board member Jeff Mulligan. “But for the part-time guys, or if you had to do something else during those three (2001-2003 qualifying) years – bang nails, whatever – you’re caught in a tough spot.”
Details of the plan
Addendum VII, as described by ASMFC, is designed to “establish a multistate effort control program for Lobster Conservation Management Area 2 that governs traps to cap effort.”
Once the state plan was approved, F&W was quick to implement it.
“The Division of Fish and Wildlife began sending out application materials to license holders by certified mail soon after the director’s approval,” said Mark Gibson, F&W deputy chief for marine fisheries.
F&W will accept applications for initial trap allocations until Dec. 31, 2006. To qualify for an allocation, applicants must possess a current commercial lobster license and they must present proof – from state lobster catch/effort logbooks or federal vessel trip reports – that they legally harvested lobsters from Area 2 in the years 2001-2003.
F&W will determine a trap allocation based on a comparison of the “reported” traps fished – the number of traps reported fished in a year – and “predicted” traps fished – the number of traps deemed necessary to land the reported amount of lobster.
These figures are compared to find the lower number, which is the “effective” number of traps fished. Then F&W will determine which year during the 2001-2003 qualifying period had the highest effective number of traps fished, and this number becomes the applicant’s initial Area 2 lobster trap allocation.
Landings considered in these histories must have occurred in an Area 2 state, specifically Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and/or New York.
Hardships, appeals
The plan deviates only slightly from the original version approved by the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council in June, with an expanded appeal condition for those prevented from fishing by military service or medical dispensation.
In the current version, any applicant who could not fish at all or whose effort was reduced in Area 2 during the period 2001-2003 because of military service or because they were the primary care giver for a stricken family member or they themselves were impaired by illness or injury can still qualify for an allocation.
In such cases, the applicant can present legal Area 2 lobster fishing history from years 1999-2000.
Applicants also will be able to appeal data entry and reporting errors by notifying F&W within 30 days of receipt of allocation.
No double dipping
For applicants licensed in both state and federal waters, F&W will forward the applications to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which will determine the allocations based on F&W’s proposed allocation for each fishing history. F&W will cooperate with NMFS to ensure that no applicant receives a dual allocation based on a single fishing history.
No single fishing history will be allocated more than 800 pots total.
Even as the plan implementation process continues in preparation for the beginning of fishing year 2007, ASMFC reserves the right to set a total trap allocation for Area 2 if necessary to control effort.
In such cases, the overall trap allocation would be reduced and each individual allocation would be reduced by an equal percentage.
Gibson said that the total trap allocation for Area 2 for Rhode Island would not be finalized until all applications were reviewed. Managers have estimated that Rhode Island’s total allocation could approach 120,000 pots.
Ballou emphasized that industry and managers must move with purpose on implementation of the Area 2 effort control plan.
“The effective date for the allocation program is May 1. Everything will be done in preparation for May 1,” he said. “The most important thing for the regulated community is to apply for a trap allocation by the end of the year.”
1/8" v-notch
The effort control plan implementation comes when the state’s managers and lobster fishermen are working on another critical management issue.
On Sept. 11, DEM filed an emergency regulation that established the definition of a v-notched female lobster as any female with a v-shaped notch or healed remnant that measures at least 1/8" in the end part of the right tail flipper.
Industry members and regulators will gather on Nov. 20 to hear public comment on this definition and on a second, zero tolerance definition. The latter definition classifies a v-notched lobster as a female with any notch or obscuring mutilation on the right tail flipper.
Final implementation of the definition will occur after the public hearing.
Industry strongly supports the quantifiable definition of 1/8".
Said Kordowski, “We want to get the 1/8-inch definition. We want an identical definition with Massachusetts.”
Joshua Allen
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