[Ending April 30]

April 30

The bottom line

April 29 [Economist]

"In terms of employment, the trip diversion [to Massachusetts] sales losses translate into the equivalent of 175 full-time equivalent job losses in the businesses directly affected and over 350 jobs lost throughout the entire economy. This job loss translates into lost personal income (wages for employees and net business income in the case of self-employed independent contractors and sole proprietors) of approximately $13 million."

April 28 [Industry member]

"A recent desperate attempt to get a lifeline from the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the State Legislature was met with hostile refusal. Truth is, we never needed lobster landings to survive until these insane laws were passed. Meanwhile Massachusetts has presented a united front and a considered plan of action. The result, New Bedford and Gloucester are #1, and #11 nationally in landings value. Maine’s standing is an embarrassment."

April 27 [Industry organization]

"Portland’s once thriving commercial fish pier today has the eerie feel of a ghost town movie set."

April 26 [Fishing family]

"We can't lose sight of the potential.  We have to protect the fishing families for the time being so we can get through the tough times and catch fish again." 

April 25 [Industry member]

"If the State does not craft a manner to level the playing field with Massachusetts, the majority of Maine's groundfish landings will leave for Massachusetts."

April 24 [Economist]

"Unlike other formerly dominant Maine clusters like textiles and shoes that have succumbed to the competitive pressures of globalization never to return, the state's marine trades cluster faces a potentially bright future...if it can survive long enough to see that future."

April 23 [Fisherman]

"It will cost me fifteen to sixteen thousand dollars to purchase the lobster permit and retrofit my boat to handle lobsters. But I will make that money back with the few days at sea that I have left this fishing year, plus I will be able to add to the value of my stock with the lobsters. All this money will go to Gloucester, I will buy my fuel there, I will ice up my boat there, I will buy my groceries there, I will buy any supplies I need for my boat there, none of it will come back to Maine."

April 22 [Industry member]

"I applaud the Portland City Council for valiantly trying and further the case of our industry. But without effective action form the State and our Congressional Delegation the industry will come to an end here when the stocks are on the verge of making a huge comeback. There will be a fishery in the future and it will continue to benefit millions of people across this country, it just won’t come from the State of Maine."

April 21 [Industry member]

"Maine's traditional fishing industry is disappearing before our eyes and we as a State need to find more intelligent business practices before it is too late."

April 20 [Maine citizen]

"We have the lobster lobby steadfast in its refusal to help the trawlermen by bending on the law that doesn’t allow lobsters to be landed in Maine, thus forcing what is left of the groundfish fleet in Portland to sell its catch in Gloucester, where it is legal. The irony here is that many years ago, when there were other things to catch than lobsters, most lobstermen fished both mobile and fixed gear."

April 19 [Industry member]

“Without a doubt, [bycatch lobster revenue] is the number one reason we are losing boats to Massachusetts...We look at it as an economic development opportunity for the commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

April 18 [Fisherman]

"There are more Portland boats in Gloucester right now than there are in Portland."

April 17 [Vessel owner]

"The (Maine) infrastructure is going to be gone - it's almost gone now."

April 16 [Maine citizen]

"We are beginning to see an end to one kind of fishing on the Maine Coast due to the increasing strength of the lobster lobby and a lack of vision and expertise by our elected and appointed officials who are supposed to be stewards of the Marine environment. Fishing boats that tow a net or a drag are about to become extinct. The fixed gear fishermen and politicians in Augusta have joined forces with tree huggers to stamp out the last remains of a fishery that has yet to kill any whales."

April 15 [Industry organization]

"All fishing ports in New England have suffered as a result of the difficulty fisheries managers have with crafting regulations that protect a couple of weak stocks while allowing fishermen to land what can be safely harvested - but Maine’s fleet has a particular disadvantage - Maine’s fleet cannot benefit from revenue generated by the lobster bycatch landings that are permitted by the federal lobster management plan. In an effort to remain economically viable, Maine’s groundfish fleet is landing in Massachusetts where the fish, lobster bycatch, fuel, ice, and fishing gear purchases, and the valuable jobs generated by this activity are welcomed."

April 14 [Massachusetts newspaper]

"When the out-of-state boats arrive, the crew members buy fuel, shop in local stores, and frequently have some repairs or maintenance done. This should be clear evidence to state and federal regulators that less regulation and lower taxes are good for business. It also adds a few points to Massachusetts in the competition with Maine for the best fishing industry."

April 13 [Maine citizen]

"There doesn't seem to be any willingness to lift a finger to help the groundfish industry."

April 12 [Fishing family]

"I'm neither for nor against [LD170] because of our unique family situation, (but) the state of Maine has not really supported the groundfish industry at all.  It has just been lip service."

April 11 [Industry member]

"Vessel Services is being pushed to the brink of destruction by groundfish boats going to Massachusetts.  Vessel Services is a well-managed, conservative company, but departure of the groundfish boats pushed Vessel Services' gear company into financial ruin.  If Vessel Services closes, there will be no place for boats to obtain ice and fuel in a commercially reasonable way."

April 10 [Industry organization]

"Due to strict groundfish conservation measures, fisheries scientists predict that in the next 20 years, New England groundfish landings will triple to as much as 300 million pounds annually. This valuable economic growth opportunity is being lost to other New England states, in large part because the groundfish industry faces an unfriendly business climate in Maine. Maine’s groundfish boats are relocating to Massachusetts because Massachusetts offers several advantages that translate to as much as 20% in additional revenue and cost savings."

April 9 [Fisherman]

"I am currently in the process of buying a federal lobster permit and we may go in to Gloucester to unload.  I'd rather come to Maine."

April 8 [Vessel owner]

"We haven't landed a trip in Portland in over a year.  We don't catch a lot of lobster but sometimes it's $5,000 in a week and that pays a fuel bill.  Massachusetts dealers have no problem buying my lobsters."

April 7 [Maine citizen]

"The slow death of the Portland industry is not just a Portland problem; it is a regional problem."

April 6 [Fishing family]

"The amount of revenue we are generating in Massachusetts cannot be overlooked.  The state of Massachusetts is a huge supporter of their industry.  We need you to support us."

April 5 [Vessel owner]

"...the Marine Resource Committee should support the rebate programs suggested by the subcommittee, as these incentives will be approximately equivalent to what could otherwise be realized in lobster bycatch revenue."

April 4

"We got lobster take us off Wed thank you."

[Email from a Maine vessel cancelling offloading in Maine on April 4 to land bycatch lobster, and 20,000 pounds of groundfish, in Massachusetts]

April 3 [Maine legislator]

"If we don't do something, we'll lose this heritage industry."

April 2 [Vessel owner]

"These lobsters are being landed anyway.  They're just being landed in other states.  If there is any hope of preserving what's left of the groundfishing infrastructure in Maine, which is the Portland Fish Exchange, something has to be done."

April 1 [Industry member]

"It is the nature of infrastructure that it lacks flexibility. It is fixed in location, can’t be moved and it is predominately fixed in costs of operation. When economic times are good, infrastructure works well; provide efficient services to customers, outlets for suppliers, and reasonable returns on invested capital; both public and private. However, when industry declines, and groundfish boats fail or move to other ports, infrastructure economics go negative quickly."

March 30 [Industry organization]

"In 2004, Governor Baldacci convened a Task Force to formulate recommendations about how best to rebuild groundfish stocks, and preserve and enhance Maine’s groundfishing industry in the face of significant challenges and changes...More than two years later there has simply been no follow-up and no action to eliminate any of the disadvantages for fishing boats working from Maine ports. As a result, Portland has seen a steady attrition of its fleet to Massachusetts, and step-by-step along the way, Portland’s fishing infrastructure is crumbling."

"Maine vessels can no longer afford to forgo substantial revenue just to do business close to home."

March 28 [Industry member]

"The few groundfish clients I have are superb fishermen, having survived buybacks and drastic cuts in days at sea.  But even these fishermen are now ready to quit.  They are desperate...The pressure from crew to land lobsters (and the rest of the catch) in Gloucester is great.  As a result, more and more boats are either quitting the fishery or steaming south to a new home port."

March 27 [Maine legislator]

"Maine’s fleet can no longer afford to forgo the additional revenue from the incidental by-catch of lobsters. As the fleet migrates southward, Maine’s working waterfront – offloaders, fleet provisioners, and seafood processors – is in grave danger of being eclipsed."

March 26 [Vessel owner]

"The fish prices are not any higher in Massachusetts and the fuel is not significantly cheaper in Massachusetts, the steaming time is not a factor for us either, the single biggest reason [to land in Massachusetts] is the several thousand dollars worth of lobsters."

March 25 [Industry organization]

"It is time for the State of Maine to respond in a meaningful way to the current condition of Maine's groundfish industry.  Once the historic and economic value of this industry is lost, we will never get it back."

March 24 [Industry member]

"As of 2004, statistics show that Massachusetts already has claimed more than 72% of the New England ground fish landings. I believe they have exceeded the 80% mark in 2006, and are fast approaching the 90% mark. The Maine ground fish industry cannot and will not survive with 10%, or even 20% of the total New England ground fish landings."

March 23 [Vessel owner]

"I was a member of the Ground Fish Task Force which pointed out this migration [to Massachusetts] quite clearly and was very disappointed when the chair and others refused to recommend we seek a change in the law. Disappointed doesn’t accurately describe how someone who has invested heavily in Maine’s fishing infrastructure feels when he sends his own boats to fish out of another port...The value of our lobster landings often exceeds $10,000 and that’s for a five day trip."

March 22 [Maine citizen]

"The state of Maine has made a $12-14 million public investment in the Portland Fish Pier, the centerpiece of which is the Portland Fish Exchange. The continuing migration of the groundfishing industry to Massachusetts will surely result in the bankruptcy of the Fish Exchange and redirection of a significant public investment –perhaps to private use."

March 21 [Fisherman]

"Our days at sea have been cut from 262 to as of now 73 days on my vessel. As you can see we have to maximize our gross and minimize our expenses in order to still be here. We landed around 10,000 lbs of lobster this past year at around $5.00 a pound. That’s about 12 percent of our gross for the year. I don’t know about you, but if someone offers me 12% more for my product than I can get here than I am going to go to them with it."

March 20 [Fishing family]

"By voluntarily sacrificing an estimated one million dollars in lobster bycatch revenue over the last 15 years, my family believes we have done our part to preserve the groundfish industry in Maine."

March 19 [Maine business]

"Maine has lost most of our urchin and virtually all of our scallop fisheries over the last several years. Atlantic salmon harvests are falling. The herring and groundfish industries are both heading south – literally. Somehow Maine has got to level the playing field with Massachusetts if the groundfish sector is going to compete."

March 18 [Vessel owner]

"Today I find myself owning several million dollars in assets that produce very little profit. Profitable only if operated outside Maine. The reward for the risk taken in this business doesn’t justify fishing from Maine any longer."

March 17 [Maine citizen]

"...from the prospective of fisheries management, there is no valid reason why the legal by-catch of lobsters in the groundfish fishery should not be landed in Maine. If protection of the 'brood stock' by preserving Maine's oversize limit is a valid resource conservation measure, as Maine's lobstermen believe, then passage of this proposal could actually provide increased protection of oversized lobsters and thereby be beneficial to the lobster resource."

March 16 [Industry member]

"Under LD170, draggers will land less than 1% of the annual Maine lobster trap fisheries catch. This bill will not damage the Maine lobster fishery at all, but passage of this bill is the only hope for the Maine groundfish industry." 

March 15 [Vessel owner]

"...the State of Maine loses the lobsters, the State of Maine loses the lobster bait that the fish generate if processed in Maine, the State of Maine loses all the revenue, the State of Maine loses all the jobs and the State of Maine stands to lose a whole industry."

March 14 [Maine citizen]

"...it seems to me you must ask yourself this fundamental question: If these lobsters are already being landed in Massachusetts (and can be landed, under federal law, in all other New England states except Maine), what exactly is the unique industry damage to allow very limited lobster landings in Maine?"

[On hiatus through March 14]

March 6 [Fishing family]

"I have a son-in-law and daughter that work extremely hard to retain their business. They have so much going against them in this industry. This should not be an issue for them. It doesn't make sense to send our fleet to Mass."

March 5 [Industry member]

"This is a rare, simple opportunity to save an industry. You can either finish off the years-long execution or grant Maine fishing a reprieve. Please change the law."

March 4 [State fisheries official]

"Lobster landings by non-trap gear...are low relative to trap landings but they are an important value added to fishing trips, sometimes the difference between a profitable or failed trip. I have been following the Maine issue and am dumbfounded that Maine might watch the Exchange fail while trips are diverted to Massachusetts to max out their trip value."

March 3 [Fisherman]

"Three years ago I relocated back to Boston. It was a tough decision. It was a decision based partially on the new regulations at the federal level and partially on the state lobster landing policy. But the main reason was that we could not even get support at the state level to even ask about the possibility of landing lobsters without being intimidated by the Maine lobster industry."

March 2 [Vessel owner]

"The number of lobsterman in Maine outnumber the groundfish fishermen significantly and I have no doubt that the pressure will be great to kill LD 170, but that does not mean it should not go forward. The fact of the matter is it would change nothing on the water, the lobsters are already being landed in Gloucester, what would change is that the millions of dollars now being lost to Maine would come home. Not only that but boats from away would be encouraged to land their catch here because they can now bring in lobsters."

March 1  [Fishing family]

"It is a shame to waste such a resource and send business to other states. No one in Maine wins with this law; not the lobstermen, not the fisherman, not family members, and not our citizens. Please amend this law."

February 28  [Maine business]

"As the owner of a business that repairs fishing vessels, i have seen a sharp decline for repair services in the last few years. Keeping more of the fleet in Maine can only help the local economy. I don't see how this can harm the state lobster industry."

February 27  [Fisherman]

"...[If LD170 passes] you have a groundfish industry that has a "legal" vested interest in the health and future of the resource , those over-sized females that are now being landed will be v-notched. A Maine boat isn't going to throw them over so the Mass. boat towing behind him can catch and land it. So if you buy into off shore brood stock theory then what you have is a mechanism to increase it and thus the net result is that the amount of lobsters that the Maine groundfish fleet lands will be more than "paid for" by these "saved brood stock females".

February 26  [Fishing family]

"Please consider this change in the law as it very may well mean the difference of having a groundfish industry in Maine or not. The groundfish industry will be strong again, but will there be any infrastructure left in Maine to support it?"

February 25  [Vessel owner]

"In this current crisis management environment we need all the help we can get to stay in Maine. Groundfishing infrastructure is imploding and when or if crisis management eases and we are allowed some degree of flexibility we are going to need all of those businesses back that were lost. LD 170 costs the taxpayers of Maine nothing, in fact it would benefit Maine. Not only the fishermen, but those who depend on us for their livelihood."

February 24  [Maine citizen]

"The last time I checked, there was a fisherman and a farmer in the state seal. Let's keep both of them there."

February 23  [Fisherman]

February 22  [Fisherman]

February 21  [Fishing family]

"My husband and I own a 60 ft trawler.  The groundfish industry has been cut to skin and bones.  Although we have never offloaded our catch outside of Maine, we no longer have a choice.  Our business can no longer survive without the additional revenues that the lobster bycatch would bring."

February 20  [Vessel owner]

"The lost revenue is not only on lobster trips. Once you establish an unloading routine you don't change it, consequently we land many trips with no lobsters, and still unload in Gloucester due to the fact that everyone's car was already there, or we needed to pick up a net left there last trip, etc.

February 19  [Vessel owner]

"The lobsters are being landed anyway.  All the revenue won't be spent in Mass, it would be spent in Maine instead."

February 18  [Maine citizen]

"I'm in support and fear the loss of this great and historic way of life.  Once it's gone, it's gone!"
 

February 17  [Fisherman]

"I am the captain of the [vessel name deleted].  We are one of the last offshore vessels who continue to unload in Portland.  With high fuel expenses and cutbacks it is hard to keep a crew in Maine.  Next year's cutbacks will be worse.  Please consider helping to change the lobster law so we won't be forced to leave also."

February 16  [Fishing family]

"We agree that our Maine fisherman, deserve, all the help the can get, from our state, and local leaders. PLEASE, support our men and women in the fishing industry."

February 15  [Industry member]

"I am an ex fisherman. I worked as a successful captain of an 87' trawler out of Portland for 18 years [before] economic hardship drove me away...The lobster law should have been changed years ago. I and my crew threw tens of thousands of dollars away or went to Massachusetts to unload fish and lobsters."

February 14  [Maine citizen]

"Maine's history is rich in the traditions of the groundfishery and the lobster fishery.  They can coexist and both benefit the economy here greatly, but only if we let them.  Please support legislation that allows us to keep these vital industries strong in Maine."

February 13  [Vessel owner]

"This situation has been brewing for quite some time. It has crept up slowly, but is well known to those in the business. In years past many Maine based trawlers simply tossed over the legally caught (in federal waters) lobsters and figured it was the higher cost of unloading where you live, not unlike other higher costs of business in Maine.

"The more recent and relentless pursuit of ground fish effort reduction has made us chose between Portland and Gloucester (which we now jokingly refer to as "Portland South" when meeting fellow expatriate fishermen there.) We have gotten used to the under 2 hour drive and the additional lobster income."

February 12  [Fisherman]

"I was a sternwoman on my father's lobster boat when I was young and know that industry very well.  Given the facts and figures, I feel LD170 is not detrimental to the lobster industry in the State of Maine. 

"I know that if it is not passed, the State of Maine is in jeopardy of losing one of its most valuable resources: the groundfish vessels.  We have been forced to take our bycatch lobsters and our entire catch of groundfish to Gloucester, MA."

February 11  [Industry member]

"My job as a shore engineer is in danger as a result of the fleet moving to the south (every state but Maine)."

February 10  [Maine citizen]

"I support Maine's fishing and landing laws on an equal basis with competing states.  We should not lose catches to other states based on the bycatch rules.  Please amend this law and create a fair working environment for our fisheries."

February 9  [Maine seafood dealer]

"We feel lobsters should be allowed to be landed in Maine by fishing draggers that work within the framework of the lobster laws.  The benefits to Maine citizens far outweigh any problems. 

"We believe that to allow these boats to land lobsters keeps Maine competitive with the other groundfish ports to the south of us.  The weight landed is such a small amount of product that the effect on Maine supply and price will be negligible."

February 8  [Vessel captain]

"Last year I fished a vessel from Maine that had a federal lobster permit, we did catch all of our 500 in count of lobster and took them to Gloucester to sell.

"The total sale of the lobster amounted to just over eight thousand dollars. Our fuel bill for the trip for seven days was eight thousand dollars. The lobsters that we caught paid for our fuel."