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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 9
May 2009
LAC commits to find lobster research funds
HALLOWELL, ME – The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Lobster Advisory Council met on March 25 to review the progress of its tiered license subcommittee, discuss funding for DMR lobster monitoring programs, and hear updates on bills before the Legislature.
Council Chairman Bob Baines reported that the tiered license system subcommittee met in February to look at possible criteria lobstermen could be required to meet in the future if a tiered-license system to distinguish full-time from part-time lobstermen is adopted.
“We took two steps forward and two steps back,” Baines said.
He explained that the subcommittee’s struggles mostly stemmed from the complexity of income tax filing laws.
“The variety of ways people can file their taxes – as a corporation, sole proprietor, or jointly – has caused the subcommittee problems in trying to create licensing rules since the DMR cannot be certain all the reported income on those returns has been generated through lobstering,” Baines said.
Because of this, a tiered license system could require lobstermen to demonstrate both landing and income amounts to prove that the majority of their income was generated through lobstering.
Baines clarified that if a lobsterman could show he had met the landing threshold amounts, “We would not ask for further income documentation.”
However, the DMR would require an affidavit submitted by a certified public account (CPA) on behalf of the individual lobsterman requesting a lobster license.
A lobsterman in the audience asked about possible privacy issues associated with requiring income documentation from lobstermen applying for a license.
“Isn’t it quite intrusive to request people’s level of income to get a license? There is no other profession that asks for that,” he said.
Sarah Cotnoir of the DMR replied that an affidavit submitted by a CPA would not reveal the actual dollar amount a lobsterman made, only the fact that the money was earned from lobstering and met the income threshold.
Baines further explained that the subcommittee would be meeting again sometime in April to try to define tiered-license income and landing thresholds.
Research funding
DMR lobster biologist Carl Wilson reported that federal funding for sea sampling and ventless trap research had been drastically reduced, placing the state’s lobster research programs in danger of being discontinued due to underfunding.
“We cannot count on federal funding for these programs going into the future,” he said.
But the programs got a reprieve this year when the board that advises how the Lobster Research, Education, and Development Fund is spent voted to provide funding to ensure sea sampling and ventless research continues. The fund comes from fees from the state’s lobster license plate.
“Basically, we got a stay of execution, but next year we will be right back in the same position,” Wilson explained.
Baines felt strongly that something needed to be done to stabilize lobster research funding.
“This is our science and our industry,” he said. “We need to do what we can to keep this science and industry going.”
Council members did some brainstorming to come up with ideas for how the industry itself could generate research funding.
“It is so obvious that we need to take care of these issues ourselves,” stated council member Peter McAleney. “The state of Maine will not be able to help us.”
Ultimately, council members came to a consensus that securing nontraditional funding sources for future scientific research is critical to the survival of the Maine lobster industry.
The council voted to establish a four-member subcommittee – Dana Rice, McAleney, Baines, and Jon Carter – to do further study and bring back recommendations to the full council.
Legislation
DMR Deputy Commissioner David Etnier updated the council on several bills under consideration in the Legislature.
LD 928, “An Act to Permit the Landing of Dragged Crabs as Bycatch,” would allow a person who is holding a commercial fishing license, but not a commercial lobster license, to land crabs that have been harvested as bycatch while using an otter trawl in federal waters.
“The DMR supports this bill and will place biological limits on the allowable bycatch,” Etnier said.
LD 246, “An Act Regarding Violations of Lobster Conservation Laws,” would add theft to the list of offenses for which a license may be suspended. It would allow the DMR commissioner to permanently revoke a lobsterman’s license for three or more lobster trap molesting offenses.
Also, it increases the penalties for possession of egg bearing and v-notched lobsters and expands the types of illegal lobsters for which a second offense would result in a mandatory suspension.
And it creates a requirement that a lobster and crab fishing license holder who is fishing for or taking lobsters may operate only the vessel listed on the license holder’s license.
“The intent here is to clamp down on people fishing two gangs of gear, not to insist the boat owner’s hand is always on the throttle,” Etnier explained.
He added that LD 246 had “unanimous support out of committee and is on its way to passage out in the Legislature.”
State Sen. Dennis Damon reported to the council concerning LD 1009, “An Act to Allow Lobster License Exemptions to Fishermen with Certain Medical Criteria.”
Basically, the bill would allow a person to obtain a lobster license if he/she had not had one the previous year due to illness or a medical condition.
Although council members were sympathetic to individuals in such a situation, overall they felt that the legislation as written could do more harm than good.
Damon also discussed LD 1128, “An Act to Allow Family Members of an Island Community to Share a Lobster and Crab Fishing License.”
This bill would allow the holder of a current Class I, Class II, or Class III lobster and crab fishing license who is a permanent resident on an island not connected to the mainland by a bridge to share that license with family members who are permanent residents of the same island or another nonbridged island within the same municipality.
A family member sharing the Class I, Class II, or Class III lobster and crab fishing license is subject to the same privileges and restrictions as the primary license holder. For each family member sharing a Class I, Class II, or Class III lobster and crab fishing license, the number of trap tags the primary license holder is eligible to receive under that license is reduced by 20%.
This bill also provides that, if the primary license holder dies or retires from commercially fishing for lobster and crab, a family member sharing the license must be named as the primary license holder or the license lapses back to the state.
The council voted to support the bill with several members abstaining. n
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