Lobstermen: no compromise on dragger bill

BELFAST – Politics may be called the art of compromise but the state’s lobster fishermen are hardly politicians and they’re not about to compromise when it comes to a proposal that would open the lobster fishery to draggers.

About two dozen lobster fishermen gathered for a press briefing at Young’s Lobster Pound Wednesday morning to reiterate their strong opposition to proposed legislation that would allow offshore draggers to harvest up to 500 lobsters a week.

At one point in the questioning the band of fishermen shouted a resounding “no,” when asked if they were open to any compromise.

The state has banned the taking of lobster by any means other than lobster traps for years but pressure is being exerted by groundfishermen to relax the rules and allow them access to Maine’s most valuable fishery.

The legislation was introduced by Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, and is being heralded as a way to boost the declining groundfishing industry and also assist the Portland Fish Exchange. Because harvesting lobster by dragger in Maine waters is illegal, fishermen who catch lobsters in their nets unload them in Massachusetts where there are no provisions against draggers instead of Portland.

The legislation sets a limit of no more than 100 lobsters per day with a maximum of 500 lobsters landed within a week. The bill describes the proposal as critical to the “survival of Maine businesses dependent on the groundfish industry.”

Dr. Robert Bayer, of the Lobster Institute of the University of Maine, said the lobster fishery was “probably the best managed fishery in North America and probably the world,” and it would be a mistake to open it to draggers.

Bayer said it has been proven many lobsters are damaged by dragging gear and those that do survive “don’t live well and they don’t ship well.”

Bayer said there was a offshore fishery of oversize lobsters that are currently protected under Maine law. He said that when draggers are limited to 100 lobsters a day, it stood to reason that they would land the heavy ones and toss back the smaller lobsters. Large lobsters carry the most eggs, he said.

“I see no need to make adjustments at this time. The sustainability of the fishery should continue as it is,” said Bayer.

One lobster fisherman after another pointed out that Maine has a strong fishery because the fishermen have regulated themselves over the years. They said the fishermen have set size and trap limits that have been proved successful for decades. To open the state’s waters to draggers would decimate the fishery, they said.

“No dragging for lobster, anywhere,” said Belfast lobster fisherman Dave Black.

Bob Baines, of South Thomaston, a member of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said the legislation was “a direct attack on the fundamental tenet of lobster conservation.” He said the groundfish industry had “mismanaged and over-fished” their own resource for years and could not be allowed to target lobsters next.

“Maine law prohibits Maine groundfishermen from landing lobsters, anywhere, not just in Maine. Maine documented boats, run by Maine captains are currently violating the law by landing lobsters, including oversize lobsters, in Massachusetts,” he said. “These fishermen now want to change the law to make it legal for them to do what is currently illegal. Why would the state reward these fishermen for flagrantly breaking the law at the expense of Maine’s sustainable lobster industry?”

Sheila Dassett, of Belfast, director of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, said the industry has nurtured a “family-oriented way of life” for generations. Dassett, who recalled going to bed at night as a child in Stonington and waking in the morning to the sound of lobster boat engines, said draggers would “devastate” that way of live.

“To allow draggers back into the fishery would be taking a giant step backward,” she said.

The Marine Resources Committee will conduct a public hearing on LD 107 beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, March 5, at the Augusta Civic Center.