Given the fundamental importance of lobstering to the livelihoods of thousands of people, fishing communities, and the economy of the state of Maine, it makes sense that everyone involved wants to do all they can to safeguard the fishery\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Pat Keliher is now attempting to muster that good will from the industry as he sets about creating a Maine lobster fishery management plan.<\/p>\n
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The gut-wrenching effort reduction process that lobstermen in Southern New England are going through due to a resource collapse has convinced Keliher that the time to deal with the complex issue of fishing effort is now, while Maine\u2019s resource is abundant and the fishery is strong.<\/p>\n
During the DMR\u2019s \u201cState of the Lobster Fishery\u201d session at the Maine Fishermen\u2019s Forum, Keliher explained that the lobster fishery management plan will \u201cdefine a vision for the fishery and potential triggers for action.\u201d\u00a0 And, in case there were any doubts, \u201cthe law is clear,\u201d he said, that the DMR commissioner has the authority to develop such a plan.<\/p>\n
So what will go into this plan?<\/p>\n
Keliher ticked off a list that included these elements:\u00a0 goals and objectives; a review of the biology of the species; a detailed description of the fishery; information about the status of the stock; current management measures; an outline of research needs; an \u201cecosystem-based characterization\u201d of the fishery and the resource; and recommendations to achieve the goals.<\/p>\n
The Maine lobster plan will serve as a \u201cliving document,\u201d he said, to guide long-term thinking about the state\u2019s fishery.<\/p>\n
And the DMR won\u2019t do it alone.\u00a0 Keliher emphasized his intent to engage the lobster zone councils and the DMR Lobster Advisory Council, and he initiated yet another round of meetings with industry during March and early April to talk things through.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of lobstermen attended similar meetings last winter, driven in part by the early shed, market glut, and price crash of 2012.\u00a0 Marketing was part of the agenda, and so was a controversial tiered license system intended to address latent effort.<\/p>\n
Remarkably, the DMR managed to build enough support to push through legislation that created the new Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative.\u00a0 But Keliher frankly acknowledged that the agency \u201ctried to do too much\u201d last year.\u00a0 Rather than solving a problem, the tiered licensing proposal mostly generated mistrust among lobstermen who remembered all too well what happened when \u201ceffort reduction\u201d was tied to the
\n800-trap rule that forced cuts on some people while others ramped up their trap numbers, resulting in little net reduction.<\/p>\n
This time around, as part of discussions with industry about planning for the future, Keliher is focused on the issue of latent effort \u2013 the unused or underused licenses and tags that could be put back to work at any time and cause real trouble in the event of a downturn in the fishery.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tricky subject.\u00a0 Some people have good reason for scaling back their operations and want to preserve their options to step back up.\u00a0 But if Keliher can effectively show fishermen the importance of first quantifying latent effort and then dealing with it fairly, there\u2019s a good chance the industry will find a way to come to consensus on how to go about it.<\/p>\n
In addition to his commitment not to complicate things by suggesting trap reductions or limited entry at this time, Keliher made it clear he understands that diversity within the fleet is increasingly important to Maine and that \u201cone size fits all does not work for this state.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a good foundation for these important discussions.\u00a0 \/cfn\/<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Given the fundamental importance of lobstering to the livelihoods of thousands of people, fishing communities, and the economy of the state of Maine, it makes sense that everyone involved wants to do all they can to safeguard the fishery\u2019s future. Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Pat Keliher is now attempting to muster that … <\/p>\n