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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 11
July 2007
Shut-out lobstermen sue RI over Area 2 trap allocation plan
PROVIDENCE, RI – Hundreds of Rhode Island’s commercial fishermen were angered last year when the state Department of Environmental Management decided to adopt a controversial trap allocation program to comply with interstate Lobster Conservation Management Area 2 effort control rules.
In mid-June, many of the fishermen disenfranchised by the new plan took their complaints to the Rhode Island Superior Court. They were scheduled to argue for a preliminary injunction against the new trap plan on June 18.
Organized as a new group called the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance, the fishermen planned to argue that privatizing the lobster fishery violates the state Constitution and the original charter granted by King Charles II that provided for a “free and common” fishery.
“Gov. (Donald) Carcieri has approved a controversial lobster management plan that grants exclusive access to a limited group of trap fishermen who have shown a specific history in the lobster fishery,” Alliance President Richard Fuka said in a statement.
“The plan has created a special group of privileged individuals who now possess a private property right of access to the public resource in state waters. Other Rhode Island residents wishing to engage in the lobster trap fishery will be forced to purchase this new property right from those individuals granted exclusive access by the plan.”
State officials insisted they had no choice but to adopt the plan required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The alternative, they said, was possible closure of the entire state waters fishery.
Unfair exclusion
The lobster catch in Area 2, which peaked in 1999, had plummeted by 2002. Since then, landings have stabilized but not significantly rebounded despite regulatory efforts designed to reduce fishing effort and raise the legal size of lobsters that can be landed. Fishermen also have taken part in an extensive v-notching program to protect egg-bearing females.
The new state regulatory program allocates a total number of traps in state waters, and then allows tags for those traps only to lobstermen who can prove they fished in those waters from 2001 to 2003. Newcomers would have to buy tags from those who received the initial trap allocation.
The alliance lawsuit argues that the new regulatory scheme excludes a number of fishermen unfairly.
Among the plaintiffs are fishermen who were dropped from the privatized fishery even though they held valid lobster licenses. Some were dropped because they had limited landings during 2001-2003, or worked as crew rather than as licensed vessel owners, or fished with trawl nets rather than traps.
“Everyone who is offended by the negative social, cultural, and economic impacts presented by privatizing access is encouraged to support the alliance,” Fuka said. “Gov. Carcieri needs to give the fisheries back to the people.”
Peter B. Lord
RI clarifies fluke
landing reg; adopts
1/8" v-notch rule
NARRAGANSETT, RI – The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council reviewed and clarified several topics during its June 4 meeting.
Aquaculture management was again a divisive issue as shellfish fishermen continued to press for lease expansions while the council remained reluctant to support any such expansions until the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) draws up an aquaculture plan.
The backup especially affects applicants with pending leases since their requests for expansion may have to wait for upwards of 18 months or whenever a plan is released.
The council unanimously urged immediate plan progress, but indicated it might consider lease approvals if the CRMC’s aquaculture working group draws up a timeline and adheres to it.
Responding to concerns over how the state’s fluke landing call-in procedure is being interpreted, a representative of the state environmental police explained that the original language for the call-in process said that fluke landings over 200 pounds had to be called in if the possession limit was over 200 pounds. It also said that all landings had to be called in if the possession limit was under 200 pounds regardless of catch size.
So, the interpretation of the regulation is that everyone must call in their fluke landings when the limit drops below 200 pounds per day.
Finally, the council updated its policy on advisory panels and agreed that it would not allow anyone with a criminal history in the previous three years to serve on an advisory panel. Furthermore, only council members will be allowed to serve as an advisory panel chairman.
The council also discussed the creation of a groundfish advisory panel and decided that the new panel should include those species that may be of relevance to the area’s marine environment but which are not yet covered by another advisory panel.
1/8" v-notch
The state of Rhode Island is now operating under a 1/8" v-notch definition. The permanent regulation went into effect on April 10, the same day that an emergency regulation implementing the 1/8" definition that was enacted in September 2006 expired.
In an April 24 document, Department of Environmental Management Director Michael Sullivan explained that adoption of the 1/8" definition would assure consistency with regulations already in place in Massachusetts. He also acknowledged that proponents of a zero-tolerance standard mounted an impressive campaign.
However, Sullivan added, “I ultimately decided that we can do more by continuing to v-notch lobsters throughout their range and adopting a uniform v-notch standard throughout their range.”
The Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association worked hard for the 1/8" v-notch standard, arguing that it would provide protection for females notched through the North Cape v-notch program beyond their next molt, which is crucial to rebuilding the stock.
“RILA believes in the 1/8" definition, and now all areas in Southern New England will have the 1/8" definition as part of the Addendum XI document that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recently passed,” said RILA Executive Director Elizabeth Kordowski. “This will give consistency in all lobster conservation management areas from Cape Cod south, including all of Area 3 – essentially all areas except Area 1 and the Outer Cape Cod area.”
Mason Beutel
Lorelei Stevens
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