-
"Objectively stated, the
controversy poses the question "Who is entitled to take from a
public resource?"
-
"Pot fishermen are the more
'traditional' catchers of lobsters...Comments heard during the
present controversy include 'lobsters should only be taken by
pot fishermen', 'If they want to take them, let them use pots',
and 'They're transients - they only come in to take the cream
off the top.' Clearly, some pot lobstermen feel that since
they are backed by recent history as the principal users, they
ought to have sole right to the resource."
-
"The desire of trawl fishermen
to take lobsters is a function of the "mixed-species" nature of
the generalized trawl fishery. In such a fishery, a
variety of species - seasonally abundant and seasonally
distributed - account for a composition of landings dependent on
perhaps five principal species and 5-10 of lesser importance.
Lobsters are one of those species which, at certain times of the
year, are necessary to make the day's catch profitable."
-
"...the 100 lobster limit is
an effective cap on directed lobster trawling but one which
equitably allows trawlers fishing in a mixed species fishery to
retain lobsters taken incidental to the taking of other
species."
-
"We believe the question for
resource managers and legislators is 'To what extent should
government involve itself in the resolution of a business
conflict?' If the controversy was rooted only in the
production of a commodity or even a food item grown on a farm,
the answer might very well be 'Not at all.'
"However, at issue is a natural resource under the ownership of
no one, but is managed under public stewardship.
Government - as the steward - is responsible for maintaining the
quality of those resources within its jurisdiction. Once
the quality of the resource is assured, government often has a
role in allocating resources, that is, determining who among the
users has a right to take them."
-
"We believe that government
can best serve both the general public and fishery competitors
by minimizing its involvement in the controversy - with one very important exception, relating to the initial
responsibility of government as the steward of those resources
within its jurisdiction."
-
"We believe that both pot
fishermen and trawl fishermen have a right to harvest the
lobster resource. Both - properly managed and with due
consideration for the conservation requirements of the resource
- can exist and use the resource but only if each learns to
respect the rights of his competitor to to the same."
