Maine legislator proposes change to
draw landings back to Portland
By Douglas A. Moser , Staff writer Gloucester
Daily Times
A proposed law in Maine could redirect thousands
of pounds of fish, now sold in Gloucester, back to Portland, by
overturning a ban on landing lobsters.
The bill, filed by state Rep. Anne Haskell,
D-Portland, would end a ban on fishermen selling lobsters caught in
their nets in the state. That ban is blamed for the loss of millions
of dollars in seafood revenue to Gloucester. Opposition is expected
from the influential Maine lobster industry.
"Our lobsters are being landed in Gloucester,"
Haskell said yesterday.
All other New England states with coastline allow
fishermen to sell a certain amount of lobsters brought in with the
rest of their catch. In Massachusetts, the limit is 100 lobsters per
day and a total of 500 per week. Once a cap of 6 percent of the
total yearly lobster landing is reached, fishermen cannot sell any
more lobsters.
In recent years, the effect for Portland, home to
Maine's fish exchange and auction, is fishermen have been landing
lobsters in Gloucester and now have begun selling their entire catch
here.
"The number of trips from Maine boats to
Gloucester have quadrupled in the last year or two because of the
lobster issue," said Hank Soule, general manager of the Portland
Fish Exchange. "It's getting pretty dramatic."
A National Marine Fisheries Service study reported
last year that between 2000 and 2005, 450 trips by Maine boats
landed outside Maine, with an estimated loss of $9.6 million in
revenue. In 2000, about $1.25 million was lost, according to the
report, and the number jumped to $3.5 million in 2005.
"It really confirmed and put numbers on what's
going on," Soule said. "We had a lot of anecdotal evidence from our
captains."
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David Cousens, president of the board of directors
of the Maine Lobstermen's Association, said his organization will
oppose any change. Dragging affects the quality of the lobsters
because when they spend hours in a net, he said, they wind up with
broken claws and damaged bodies.
"It's like harvesting potatoes with a bulldozer,"
he said. "You'll get a few, but you'll do damage to the rest."
The ban on groundfishermen landing lobsters and
size and V-notch restrictions are "the cornerstones of our
conservation efforts," which have led to a rebound in the lobster
population in Maine.
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