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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 11
July 2009
LAC: Dealer reports, marketing top agenda
AUGUSTA, ME – The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Lobster Advisory Council met on May 28 to review data from dealer reports and to hear updates from its tiered license and research and marketing subcommittees, as well as updates on the work of the governor’s lobster task force.
DMR lobster biologist Carl Wilson presented the landings data collected from 2008 dealer reports, the first year dealers were required to report all purchases from individual lobstermen.
The dealers reported purchasing a total of 66,179,855 pounds. Currently, there are 6,492 commercial lobster license holders. Of them, 32% had no reported activity and 68% had at least one pound reported. Of the active fishermen, 42% landed less than 1,000 pounds.
According to Wilson, 20% of license holders landed greater than 20,000 pounds of lobster each.
“My impression is a large amount of lobster is being caught by a small percentage of people,” Wilson said.
Council Chairman Bob Baines noted that the tiered license subcommittee had discussed the data and did not yet have any new recommendations for the council.
“It really took me by surprise,” he said of the data. “The amount of latent tags could be identified as a potential increase in vertical lines.”
However, DMR’s Erin Summers explained that the opposite also could be true.
“Knowing how much latent effort exists in the industry lowers the baseline calculations for the amount of gear in the water, which works out as a positive benefit for the industry,” she said.
Some council members questioned the wisdom of removing latent-effort license holders, pointing out that doing so could dramatically increase the costs of licenses for the remaining harvesters.
Council members agreed that it would be helpful to have this season’s landings data before initiating any licensing policy changes.
Increase marketing
Baines opened the research and marketing subcommittee discussion by highlighting several recent findings by the governor’s Task Force on the Economic Sustainability of Maine’s Lobster Industry.
“The task force (found) that for every dollar we invest in marketing our product, we will dramatically increase our profits,” he said.
“Going into the future, doing nothing is not an option for our industry,” Baines continued. “The first thing we need to do is grasp and support the need for marketing. We need the council to come to a consensus that the industry needs increased marketing.”
DMR Commissioner George Lapointe echoed Baines’ comment.
“Status quo is not working,” he said. “If we want to get the best price in this economy for the lobster we have, we cannot be wishy-washy or divided.”
Among the initial recommendations from the Moseley Group, the consultant hired by the task force to do an analysis of the lobster industry, is that the Maine lobster industry should anticipate investing $2.2 million into a campaign to effectively market its own product for this summer alone and $7 million to $10 million thereafter.
The council struggled over ideas for generating revenue for both research and marketing. During its March meeting, the council had discussed raising revenue by collecting a five-cent fee for every pound of lobster landed.
But at the May meeting, council members felt that lobstermen would be unhappy with the perceived burden of an additional five cents, which, ultimately, would kill the proposal at the legislative level.
Promotion council
Currently, the Maine Lobster Promotion Council (MLPC) conducts the industry’s only organized marketing effort. At this time, the MLPC is generally considered to be woefully underfunded to achieve the enormous marketing needs outlined by the Moseley Group in its final report to the task force.
Still, the MLPC has been advocating for the industry and is involved with several marketing plans for this summer, including a possible statewide “lobster bake day” modeled after the local lobster buys held by Stonington and other coastal communities last fall.
Said MLPC Executive Director Dane Somers, “If you want a better price for your lobster, you need to help yourself in the long run. The lobster industry needs to get involved.”
Baines agreed.
“We need to inform people that we need to invest in the marketing efforts for our own industry.”
Council member Elliott Thomas offered a motion to “increase future funding for marketing,” which passed without opposition.
Council member Peter McAleney offered a motion to secure funds through the Research, Education, and Development Board (RED) to support this summer’s marketing campaign. The motion passed unanimously.
Task force update
Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) and a member of the lobster task force, gave a brief update of the task force’s activities to the council.
McCarron reported that the Moseley Group was strongly suggesting increased marketing of Maine lobster as a distinct product from Canadian lobster.
Although some council members agreed with this strategy, others were concerned, feeling Maine needs to continue its strong trade relationship with the Canadian lobster industry.
McCarron also pointed out that the Moseley Group was suggesting the Maine lobster industry: not pursue Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification; not shift its harvesting season; and not implement a self-certification program.
Other business
MLPC member – The lobster advisory council considered the appointment of Cathy Billings to the MLPC for a three-year term as the public member eastern district representative.
The associate director for communications and development of the Lobster Institute, Billings came highly recommended for the position by several industry members, including Sheila Dassatt and the DownEast Lobstermen’s Association.
After discussions, the council unanimously approved Billings’ appointment.
Legislative update – DMR Deputy Commissioner David Etnier reported that license fees will increase 15% under the recently passed state budget and that the increase will be going into the state’s general fund, not into the DMR’s budget.
Etnier further reported that LD 1009, “An Act to Allow Lobster License Exemptions to Fishermen with Certain Medical Criteria,” passed with a sunset. LD 1128, “An Act to Allow Family Members of an Island Community to Share a Lobster and Crab Fishing License,” did not pass.
Sink line compliance – Col. Joe Fessenden reported that the Maine Marine Patrol was in the process of educating lobstermen about sink line compliance. Marine patrol officers were “seeing compliance, but some lobstermen are concerned they put in the effort to switch over while other lobstermen have not.”
Fessenden also reported that new trap tags were required to be on every trap by the June 1 deadline. He noted that the DMR had received several complaints concerning problems with tags not snapping.
“The department will replace these faulty tags for free,” he said.
Direct sales – On May 27, the DMR received an e-mailed letter signed by 13 lobster dealers urging the department to require lobstermen to sell their catch only to licensed lobster dealers.
The letter said such a rule would be in the best interest of harvesters, provide for consumer safety, and help dealers compete in the marketplace.
“When lobstermen decide to sell their catch directly to consumers, the usual manner of operation is to sell at a lower price than neighboring retailers,” the letter stated. “Retailers have far too much overhead to be able to sell at the same price.”
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