Opposition from the Maine lobster industry to a proposed increase in the minimum carapace size from 82.5 mm to 84 mm in Lobster Management Area 1 has sent New England fisheries managers back to the drawing board.
“After hearing loud and clear from Maine lobster industry members that they are unified in their opposition to a proposed rule change that would increase the minimum gauge size starting in July of this year, with approval from Governor Mills I decided to pull the regulation,” said Patrick Keliher, Commissioner, Maine Department of Marine Resources in a statement issued on Jan. 10 following a public hearing the day before.
“As many of you know, this regulation, which was set to go into effect on July 1 of this year, was a proactive measure intended to respond to declines we have seen in sub-legal lobsters, which are the lobsters that are just below the current legal-size limit. The objective of this measure was to leave those small lobsters on bottom for another year so they could mature and reproduce, which would buffer this vital resource against the effects of a changing climate,” said Keliher.
Keliher noted the regulation was required to ensure that Maine remains compliant with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for Lobster (FMP).
“So, this decision to pull the regulation, driven by the Maine lobster industry’s strong and compelling opposition, now requires that I go back to ASMFC and work with the Policy Board on a plan to ensure compliance with the FMP. That plan will require input from industry to ensure that we are proposing measures that achieve conservation benefits that are equivalent to those intended by this regulation. In the coming months, I will be working with the newly reconvened Lobster Conservation Management Teams as well as the Zone Councils to develop a path forward. I can’t promise what the outcome of that process will be, but I can promise that I will work diligently to give industry an opportunity to provide input into this process,” said Keliher.
Heather Mulock, executive director of the Coldwater Lobster Association, said from an industry point of view, “I don’t believe anyone was surprised here in the Maritimes that the U.S. carapace measure increase for Lobster Management Area 1 is now ’on hold’ given the relentless pressure and lobbying from fish harvesters in Maine. Lobster harvesters in the U.S. questioned the ’science’ which indicated that there was a decline in juvenile lobster in the Gulf of Maine, which triggered an automatic measure increase as a sustainability/conservation measure. This is not to say that the carapace increase talks are dead — as catches continue to decline in Maine and other regions in the U.S., this topic will most likely be revisited by our fellow fishermen south of the border.”
Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, said it was a great relief that the gauge increase has been suspended.
“Generally, we’re delighted to see it change. It means we can still put product into the U.S., especially from southwestern Nova Scotia. At the same time, we’re weary about what’s coming out in relation to additional measures,” said Vascotto, noting the states of New York and New Hampshire are also part of Lobster Management Area 1 and still have to weigh in.
In the meantime, it’s “one less challenge we’re going to have to face… with our major trading partner to the south,” said Vascotto.
