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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 1
September 2009
Lobster zones reject tiered licenses, trap cuts
AUGUSTA, ME – A clearly frustrated Gerry Cushman arrived at the Aug. 13 Lobster Advisory Council meeting armed with black T-shirts brandishing a tiny lobster and the phrase “Do Nothing” across the chest.
“It is what our zones have told us to do,” he said.
A council member, Cushman was referring to the recent response from all seven zone councils rejecting both tiered-license and effort-reduction proposals crafted by the council’s tiered-license subcommittee (see CFN August 2009 for details).
Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner George Lapointe explained that the DMR staff and the tiered-license subcommittee did “a bucket-load of work” to craft the proposals sent out to the zone councils.
“Effort issues are still out there,” he asserted. “They will come back, and we are in a bad spot right now.”
Both council and audience members offered possible explanations as to why the zones staunchly rejected the tiered-license subcommittee’s proposals.
“It was impossible to tease out the tiered-proposal system from the trap reduction plan,” said Zone F council member Jeff Putnam.
Added Portland lobsterman Lyman Kennedy, “The silent majority gets shouted down at the meetings. People are afraid to speak up at the zone meetings. That is why the survey is more accurate.”
Kennedy was referring to the lobster effort survey carried out by the DMR in 2008 in which 56% of the lobstermen who responded supported reducing the number of traps in their areas.
Both council members and DMR staff agreed that fishermen can easily become intimidated into remaining silent at public meetings, fearing possible retaliation from other fishermen if they support a conflict-ridden position.
Others also agreed that surveys offer fishermen anonymity, enabling policy makers to gain more accurate insights into fishermen’s collective opinions on lobster fishery issues.
Shouted down
DMR Deputy Commissioner David Etnier pointed out that nearly 40% of the 2008 lobster effort surveys mailed out to then current license holders were completed and returned.
“A 40% return rate is even higher than the percentage of voters who turned out for the presidential elections,” he remarked.
“But,” Etnier continued, “the same small group of vocal fishermen that shout down other fishermen at zone meetings are the same small group that goes up to testify before the legislators against proposed legislation.”
Lobster Advisory Council Chairman Bob Baines reported being approached recently by a lobsterman with a petition signed by 40 additional lobstermen. The signed petition urged continuing the tiered-license discussion despite the zones’ recent rejection of the proposals.
“I told him nothing could be done,” said Baines. “Unfortunately, the subcommittee put in a huge effort but was strongly opposed. I think the only effort reduction we will see will be mandated by outside sources.”
Lapointe echoed Baines’ sentiments saying, “We can put this to bed, but the critical question will stay with us: What process should be used to make things change?”
Are zones working?
Established by the Legislature in 1995, by 1997, the zones had evolved into a co-management system providing lobstermen with a say in management of their local lobster fisheries.
A number of people at the Lobster Advisory Council meeting expressed concern that the zone structure and process had not fulfilled the intent behind the creation of the zones.
Said Etnier, “We know the zones are not working for the big issues, but they work for getting information out to fishermen.”
Most council members who spoke shared Etnier’s opinion.
“The councils will only work if the intimidation factor is removed,” said council member Dan MacDonald. “Use the councils for distributing information, but have a process for voting that is anonymous.”
Council member John Drouin commented that fishermen “are still not well informed, and more information needs to get out to engage people.”
Council member Ted Hoskins added, “If we want to get people together to look at both the big and small problems, we need to think about our expectations for the districts, zones, and advisory council. We need to be looking at systems to help facilitate this process.”
Gear conflicts
The recent incidents of violence on Matinicus Island (see CFN August 2009) and the vandalism in Owl’s Head this summer, which included the scuttling of three lobster boats, largely stemmed from “ongoing gear conflict and cutting on the water,” according to Maine Marine Patrol Col. Joe Fessenden.
Trying to put a lid on the brewing lobster war situation, the marine patrol was partnering with other law enforcement agencies and investing hundreds of hours in monitoring fishermen. The agency also received numerous tips on its tip line, which were proving to be very helpful in resolving the recent cases.
“We have received great cooperation from fishermen,” Fessenden said. “It is obvious the fishermen are getting sick of all of this.”
Concern surfaced among some people at the meeting that the industry has lost public sympathy due to the recent negative national media coverage of the violence.
“The industry needs to think about doing something proactive. Stand up and say, ‘This is reprehensible behavior and we do not support these behaviors as an industry,’” Etnier urged.
DMR lobster biologist Carl Wilson pointed out that despite recent negative events, there are many positive things happening in the industry. As an example, he pointed to the group of fishermen who are participating in the experiment duplicating the Monhegan trap reduction trials.
“Tenants Harbor lobstermen have voluntarily agreed to take gear out of the water,” he said of the recently funded effort. “Any insight we gain from this experiment will ultimately help the industry.”
Marketing plan
Lapointe reported that the DMR has been working on a legislative package focused on marketing Maine lobster.
“Sept. 12 is the legislative deadline,” Lapointe said. “We will be moving forward with a bill package to the Legislature.”
The council again discussed the possibility of collecting a fee per pound of lobster harvested to fund marketing efforts.
“Various industries have proven advertising can work,” said Lapointe.
Putnam said he was interested in seeing the bill proposal but had concerns about how Maine lobster will be marketed.
“I hope we don’t continue with this discount model,” he said, referring to supermarket and restaurant promotions offering lobster at deeply discounted prices. “That will just hurt us in the long run.”
Other council members voiced concerns that lobstermen will pay the marketing costs for the proposed plan but will not reap any bottom-line benefits.
“Are lobstermen going to have more jobs and more money from this?” asked Hoskins. “This is the question. This is what we want answered.”
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