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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 10
June 2007
Lobsters on draggers divides Maine again
PORTLAND, ME – Less than two months after the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources killed LD 170, the controversial bill that would have allowed draggers to land lobster in Maine, the issue has taken on new life and is once again bitterly dividing the two most important fisheries in the state.
In early May, reports began to circulate in the groundfish community that the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) would be placing marine patrol officers on board Coast Guard cutters to begin enforcement actions against Maine-registered groundfish vessels fishing offshore that possess lobster.
Local news accounts featured fishermen stating they had received “notice” of DMR’s intention to enforce the law that binds Maine licensed fishermen to all Maine marine resource laws – including the prohibition on possession of nontrap lobsters – no matter where they fish. The longstanding law was challenged as recently as 1992 and was upheld by the court.
“The DMR is aware of an e-mail that is being sent around within the groundfish fleet about this,” said DMR Commissioner George Lapointe in mid-May. “We have not sent out notices.”
The issue of Maine groundfish vessels landing lobster came to the forefront at the LD 170 hearing on March 5 when members of the industry testified about landing lobsters as a bycatch with their fish in Massachusetts. Ironically, they were testifying in hope of convincing legislators to change the Maine ban on landing nontrapped lobsters.
Some groundfish fishermen who spoke before the marine resources committee had to fend off comments from the crowd that they had landed lobsters illegally under Maine law. These speakers told the committee and audience they had federal lobster permits and were not possessing or landing lobsters in Massachusetts illegally.
DMR position
Lapointe said he heard from a number of people following the LD 170 hearing.
“Lobstermen, legislators, and members of the public contacted me and asked why we were not enforcing the law and what we were going to do about it,” he said.
Lapointe said that the Bureau of Marine Patrol did initiate a conversation with the Coast Guard to see if it would allow officers to join the Coast Guard on cutters to check on Maine vessels that they may come across offshore.
“We have not received a response from the US Coast Guard yet,” Lapointe said in mid-May.
He added, “The department does not have the ability to pick and chose which laws we enforce.”
However, Lapointe said that the DMR will not initiate any substantive change in the level of enforcement without first notifying Maine license holders.
Retaliation?
Maine groundfish fishermen have emphatically stated that they will move their boats and businesses to Massachusetts if the DMR takes these steps.
“The state has made an extremely unfortunate decision to aggressively enforce the prohibition on lobster bycatch by nontrap vessels,” said Maggie Raymond, spokesman for Associated Fisheries of Maine.
“This decision smells of retaliation for LD 170. The irony is that this action will result in increased effort on lobsters as Maine groundfish fishermen who have been landing lobster bycatch in Massachusetts on a seasonal basis will now relocate their businesses to Massachusetts ports,” she added.
Many within the industry fear that if groundfish vessels leave Maine, the consequences will reverberate throughout the state with the potential loss of the Portland Fish Exchange and other shoreside support services that rely on these vessels to patronize their businesses.
“We just lost two more vessels and know of another two that may leave,” said Hank Soule, the exchange’s general manager.
The penalty for possession of nontrap lobsters by these vessels is a Class D offense. If the choice is between a financial penalty or shredding the license and leaving, then they will leave, Soule said.
DMR reported that the Class D penalty for nontrap lobster possession is a fine of $50 for each violation and “a fine of $100 for each lobster involved.”
Additionally, an individual convicted of a Class D crime may be ordered to pay a fine of up to $2,000 and ordered to serve up to one year in prison.
Rosanne Mizzoni
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