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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 1
September 2008
Leadership needed to realign lobster fishery
Recent economic and resource developments have put the Maine lobster industry at a crossroads. Deciding how to proceed will almost certainly be a painful process that will take innovative ideas, open minds, and courageous leadership from industry and state government at the highest level.
This edition of Commercial Fisheries News includes several articles that lay out some of the challenges lobstermen now face. In addition to the staggering jump in fuel and bait prices, this season’s slumping market, the looming federal sinking groundline requirement, and amped-up pressure from environmentalists to reduce the number of endlines in the water, Maine lobster landings are down from their 90-million-pound peak in 2003 to roughly 63 million pounds in 2007 – a 30% drop.
Many lobstermen know in their gut that there’s something not quite right and that the upcoming stock assessment likely will send a different signal than it did three years ago.
Once the assessment comes out in 2009 and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission gives the states their marching orders, we’ll have a better idea of the real status of the lobster resource. And we’ll have a clearer sense of where we stand and what needs to be done to stabilize the industry.
In the meantime, the lobster effort survey conducted earlier this year by the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) indicated that, out of the 2,381 licenses holders who returned surveys, a total of 76% were either “very” or “somewhat” worried about the number of traps being fished in their area.
And, in every zone except Zone C (48%) and Zone D (50%), a majority of responding lobstermen said they would support reducing the number of traps in their area.
However, some lobstermen have criticized the DMR for conducting the effort survey in such a way as to have trap reduction be the only option on the table for realigning fishing effort with the true size of the lobster resource.
There are other ways to accomplish the same goal. Raising the gauge is one, though past experience has shown that the Maine lobster industry is not interested for market reasons. A seasonal fishery – one that would allow lobstermen to land their product during times of the year when product quality and demand will get them the best price – is another possibility that has been raised.
A recently concluded study by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute points to why figuring out how to respond to the growing cost, market, and resource crisis in the lobster industry is so critical. Some 44% of lobstering families surveyed rely solely on the lobster fishery for income. When that income drops, there are often few if any alternative job opportunities to supplement or replace it. This is especially true in the state of Maine.
This situation has the makings of a social and economic catastrophe for coastal communities that rely heavily on the lobster fishery, particularly those Downeast. Everyone needs to put aside their fears and prejudices to work out a solution. And, in support of the DMR, the governor and the Legislature need to get engaged to help steer this ship of change. /cfn/
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