"The only place you can catch lobsters by mobile gear is three miles out" in federal waters, Cousens said. "Your state doesn't allow it, New Hampshire doesn't allow it, Maine doesn't allow it."

Vito Calomo, executive director of the Massachusetts Fishery Recovery Commission, said he backs Haskell's proposal because it would help groundfishermen along the Maine coast. But, confirming that a number of Maine vessels land lobsters and groundfish here, he said he does not expect them to stop coming to Gloucester.

"It's more than just lobsters," Calomo said. "That's how it started. But they found out that bringing fish here brings higher prices and buying fuel is cheaper here."

[Learn more about prices for: Fish | Fuel]

Cousens agreed that groundfishermen would likely continue coming to Gloucester for higher fish prices and cheaper fuel.

Haskell said she expects the lobstermen to oppose the bill at committee hearings but welcomes their concerns.

"They've given up a lot and worked very hard to conserve the resource, so they're passionate about maintaining the resource," she said. "Some of their concerns have to do with the loss of the stock. They want to make sure they have a vibrant lobster stock."

Most of the lobsters groundfishermen catch are in federal waters, which is farther out than most Maine lobstermen go.

"This has been a long-standing ban in our state and when it comes up, the lobstermen's hackles do get up," Soule said. "The lobster industry does have a lot of clout in our state."

However, the lobsters farther out at sea tend to be much larger and could not be landed in Portland because of Maine's 5-inch limit.

"They're using this as a reason to bring draggers back to the auction, but there's another law, the 5-inch maximum, and many of them are larger than that and would not be allowed to be landed in the state of Maine anyway," said Arnold Gamage Jr., a member of the Maine Lobstermen's Association board of directors.

According to a Web site the Portland exchange runs, Portland fell from the 11th port, ranked by the value of seafood landed, in 1995 to 24th in 2005. Its lowest ranking in that time was 30th in 2004. Meanwhile, Gloucester climbed from 29th in 1995 to 11th in 2005. View port rankings

In terms of port revenue, Portland brought in $34.6 million in 2005 while Gloucester netted $45.9 million.  View port revenues

Soule and Haskell want to overturn the ban to keep fish coming into Portland so the port's infrastructure remains intact when and if groundfish stocks rebound and federal restrictions relax.

"From my perspective, it's a critical piece of infrastructure," Haskell said.

The limits and figures in the bill - 100 lobsters a day and 500 per week - are open for negotiation, as well, she said.