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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 11
July 2007
Lobster maximum size exemption for draggers fails
ALEXANDRIA, VA – In a move that took many by surprise, Vito Calomo of Gloucester, MA attempted to win support for exempting “nontrap” lobster fishermen from the maximum size provisions adopted for Southern New England under Addendum XI to the interstate lobster plan.
Calomo serves as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) proxy for Massachusetts state Rep. Tony Verga.
At the May 8 meeting of ASMFC’s American Lobster Management Board, Calomo moved to exempt “the commercial nontrap sector” from the maximum gauge size in Lobster Conservation Management Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Once Addendum XI is implemented, the maximum gauge in Area 3 will be 7", scheduled to go down by 1/8" for the following two years to end at 6-3/4". In all other Southern New England areas, the maximum gauge will be 5-1/4". The implementation deadline for affected states is June 2008.
“This to me is a restriction that is unwarranted,” said Calomo, referring to nontrap fishermen.
“I think they have already paid the price by going down to 100/500,” he said.
Except in Maine where the limit is zero, draggers and other nontrap commercial fishermen are restricted to possessing no more than 100 lobsters per day with a maximum of 500 per trip.
Connecticut Commissioner Eric Smith easily supported the proposal.
“I agree entirely with Vito because of the bycatch nature of the nontrap fishery,” said Smith.
Opposition
However, that was where support for the measure ended.
Rhode Island Commissioner Mark Gibson said, “This will not help reduce fishing mortality immediately. It’s another way to further erode the conservation benefits in the plan.”
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) representative Bob Ross reminded the board that NMFS “just last year” implemented measures that included maximum size restrictions for nontrap fishermen in Areas 4 and 5 to compliment ASMFC measures from the LCMTs, so federally permitted vessels would be bound by those restrictions.
Bonnie Spinazzola, executive director of the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, said, “I just feel that it would be absolutely wrong to let one sector fish on a different size lobster.”
Enforcement representative Col. Joe Fessenden of Maine concurred.
“We would be opposed to allowing mobile gear to take oversize lobsters and not trap gear,” he said on behalf of ASMFC’s enforcement committee.
Area 3 Chairman David Spencer, speaking strictly about the offshore area, said, “We’ve been a big supporter of mobile gear, and we worked diligently to not drop the 500 number. But if you’re going to hold the trap guys to 7" and down to 6-3/4", it should be that way for all.”
The board resoundingly defeated the motion.
Trophy lobsters
New Jersey representative Pete Himchak attempted to gain board support for a provision that would have allowed recreational divers to keep one female lobster over the maximum size. These “trophy” lobsters are extremely important to the recreational diver fishery, he said.
Calomo agreed to include the exemption in his nontrap motion. When the motion was defeated, the trophy lobster proposal went down as well.
A subsequent motion by Himchak to allow sport divers to keep one trophy female lobster per day or trip in Areas 4 and 5 also failed.
Under federal regulations, recreational fishing vessels and recreational divers are allowed to keep one oversize female lobster per fishing trip in both of those areas, but since ASMFC didn’t adopt the provision, recreational fishermen will not be able to land those lobsters stateside once Addendum XI is implemented.
Janice M. Plante
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