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In fact, when the rules to allow
Massachusetts boats to land 500 lobsters were under consideration, vessels
had to prove historic catch. Many couldn't. They'd been hauling up
lobsters, but selling them illegally for years. Also, allowing the sale of
trawler-caught lobster is no guarantee the Exchange will make money. It's
not even a guarantee that Maine trawlers that now drag up lobsters and
take them for sale in Massachusetts or New Hampshire, will change their
habits for many other reasons — including lower berthing fees, and often,
higher prices for the catch. This idea appears more to be an opportunity
to roll back a rule Maine groundfishermen have never liked than a way to
help the Exchange.
Pat White is a York lobstermen who was
the long-time head of the Maine Lobstermen's Association and is now a
member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. He read in a
recent news story the suggestion that Maine could, like Massachusetts,
allow the landing of 500 lobsters per trawler trip, and that could bring
$10,000 to $12,000 per trip to the groundfishermen. "At that, the lobsters
landed would average 6 lbs., which are illegal to land or sell in Maine
anyway," said White. "They would still have to go to Massachusetts."
Meanwhile, the auction doesn't need
trawler-caught lobster to sell lobster. Nothing stops the Exchange from
selling trap-caught lobsters now, if officials so desire. "They tried
selling lobsters years ago, and they couldn't make a go of it," White
said. "Why don't they redirect their effort into marketing or brokering
some of the 8,000 metric tons of shrimp that will be available this
winter? There may also be other species they are not currently handling
that could generate additional income."
Maine's lobstermen have succeeded in
getting other states to agree to implement many of their conservation
measures, such as maximum landing size, v-notching of egg-bearing females.
Many Maine rules have been implemented by ASMFC, which manages the
resource for the federal government. Other proposals to help the Maine
groundfish industry, such as eliminating the tax on diesel fuel for
fishing boats, are good ideas. But these are ideas that must handled at
the state level, through the legislature.
Still, there's no guarantee any such
measures will materially help the Exchange to survive. The exchange should
be subsidized until the industry recovers, or until it's proven beyond a
reasonable doubt that there will never again be a need for it — which is
an unlikely circumstance. "We can't use lobster to save the groundfish
industry or the Exchange," said White. Maine lobster is currently holding
the infrastructure of the whole coast together."
"We're willing to help groundfishermen
survive, work to reduce the taxes, anything that doesn't harm our
industry," said White. "But this kind of thing drives a wedge."
© 2006
Working Waterfront |
