By Walter Griffin
Thursday, March 1, 2007 - Bangor Daily News
BELFAST - Politics may be called the art of compromise but the
state’s lobster fishermen are hardly politicians and they’re not
about to compromise when it comes to a proposal that would open the
lobster fishery to draggers.
About two dozen lobster fishermen gathered for a press briefing
at Young’s Lobster Pound Wednesday morning to reiterate their strong
opposition to proposed legislation that would allow offshore
draggers to harvest up to 500 lobsters a week.
At one point in the questioning the band of fishermen shouted a
resounding "no," when asked if they were open to any compromise.
The state has banned the taking of lobster by any means other
than lobster traps for years but pressure is being exerted by
groundfishermen to relax the rules and allow them access to Maine’s
most valuable fishery.
The legislation was introduced by Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland,
and is being heralded as a way to boost the declining groundfishing
industry and also assist the Portland Fish Exchange. Because
harvesting lobster by dragger in Maine waters is illegal, fishermen
who catch lobsters in their nets unload them in Massachusetts where
there are no provisions against draggers instead of Portland.
The legislation sets a limit of no more than 100 lobsters per day
with a maximum of 500 lobsters landed within a week. The bill
describes the proposal as critical to the "survival of Maine
businesses dependent on the groundfish industry."
Dr. Robert Bayer, of the Lobster Institute of the University of
Maine, said the lobster fishery was "probably the best managed
fishery in North America and probably the world," and it would be a
mistake to open it to draggers.
Bayer said it has been proven many lobsters are damaged by
dragging gear and those that do survive "don’t live well and they
don’t ship well." [More
about lobsters harvested in trawl gear]
Bayer said there was a offshore fishery of oversize lobsters that
are currently protected under Maine law. He said that when draggers
are limited to 100 lobsters a day, it stood to reason that they
would land the heavy ones and toss back the smaller lobsters. [More
about LD170's adherence to Maine's oversize law] Large
lobsters carry the most eggs, he said.
"I see no need to make adjustments at this time. The
sustainability of the fishery should continue as it is," said Bayer.
One lobster fisherman after another pointed out that Maine has a
strong fishery because the fishermen have regulated themselves over
the years. They said the fishermen have set size and trap limits
that have been proved successful for decades. To open the state’s
waters to draggers would decimate the fishery, they said [View
LD170 allowable fishing area].
"No dragging for lobster, anywhere," said Belfast lobster
fisherman Dave Black.
Bob Baines, of South Thomaston, a member of the Maine
Lobstermen’s Association, said the legislation was "a direct attack
on the fundamental tenet of lobster conservation." He said the
groundfish industry had "mismanaged and over-fished" their own
resource for years and could not be allowed to target lobsters next
[More
about groundfish populations].
"Maine law prohibits Maine groundfishermen from landing lobsters,
anywhere, not just in Maine. Maine documented boats, run by Maine
captains are currently violating the law by landing lobsters,
including oversize lobsters, in Massachusetts," he said. "These
fishermen now want to change the law to make it legal for them to do
what is currently illegal. Why would the state reward these
fishermen for flagrantly breaking the law at the expense of Maine’s
sustainable lobster industry?"
Sheila Dassett, of Belfast, director of the Downeast Lobstermen’s
Association, said the industry has nurtured a "family-oriented way
of life" for generations. Dassett, who recalled going to bed at
night as a child in Stonington and waking in the morning to the
sound of lobster boat engines, said draggers would "devastate" that
way of live.
"To allow draggers back into the fishery would be taking a giant
step backward," she said.
The Marine Resources Committee will conduct a public hearing on
LD 107 beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, March 5, at the Augusta Civic
Center.
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