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DMR Says Use It Or Lose It On Tags
The survey is based on a new law, passed in September 2007, that changes the method for calculating a zone’s exit-to-entry ratio for lobster licenses not renewed to trap tags retired. With the new law, the existing ratios for limited entry zones will no longer be in effect, starting with the licensing year 2009. The law also allows a zone to consider whether or not to create a separate waiting list for young people’s entry into the zone; and it makes 17 the youngest age at which one can obtain a commercial license. The survey asks Zone B members to choose one of five entry/exit ratios – 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1. A ratio of 1:1, for example, would mean that 800 tags would have to retire before one person would be allowed in. A ratio of 5:1 would mean that 4,000 tags would have to retire before one person would be allowed in. In 2003, with a 3:1 exit/entry ratio, Zone B had nine license-holders leave the fishery, and three came in. If there had been a tag ratio in 2003, only one person would have come in, with nine out. If there had been a 5:1 ratio, no one would have come in. In 2007, 25 licenses were retired, and eight new fishermen came in. With a 3:1 ratio only three new fishermen would have come in; with 5:1, two would have come in. Overall, in Zone B between 2003-2007, 80 licenses were retired; with the old system 27 entrants came in under the 3:1 ratio. With the new tag system, under 3:1, only 11 new entrants would have come in. Twenty-seven people came off the waiting list and entered Zone B during the five-year period from 2003-2007. The entry ratio does not account for students, who can enter a zone without going on the waiting list. Because of this circumstance, the entry numbers are not accurate, noted council chairman Jon Carter. The number of entrants is actually higher, he said, and thus might warrant a higher entry ratio. Counting tags, noted Mr. Carter, is a better way to control effort. When fishermen are ready to retire, they are likely not fishing their full complement of 800 traps, whereas young fishermen just starting will be likely to build up to 800. The 3:1 tag ratio will mean that 800 tags can come in for every 2,400 tags out; the 800 tags will represent one fisherman, but the 2,400 tags will likely represent more than three fishermen. One man noted that at least some older fishermen buy 800 tags, even though they don’t fish that many traps, so the new system might not work either. But the Department of Marine Resources’ Sarah Cotnoir said the DMR’s Lobster Advisory Council is also looking at a ‘use it or lose it’ system. The current system is ineffective, the council agreed. Although Zone B has fewer fishermen than a decade earlier – 555 last year, versus 645 in 1997 – there are far more traps in the water. The number of tags sold for Zone B went up by about a third during that decade, from about 235,000 in 1997, to about 315,000 now. The expectation is that the new system will help the zones to avoid freezing entry altogether – and will avoid further cuts in the trap cap. The DMR will set up an information meeting for Zone B’s fishermen while they have their surveys in hand, said Ms. Cotnoir. In other business, attendees at the council’s meeting said they hadn’t received notices from the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding new groundline requirements. Ms. Cotnoir encouraged fishermen to contact her. “There’s massive confusion out there,” she said. The DMR will set up public meetings on the whale rule and other lobster issues next month, she said. In the meantime, said Maine Lobstermen’s Association vice president Jack Merrill, the MLA continues its efforts to get a broader exemption area for Maine. “We haven’t given up fighting,” he said. The MLA has a pro bono law team and remains in talks with the state’s Congressional delegation on the matter. Last year, the industry agreed to an extra surcharge on the purchase of trap tags, in order to generate a dedicated fund for researching whale and rope issues. Ms. Cotnoir reported that the DMR is now seeking guidance from the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, which meets in Baltimore, Md., later this month, on what direction to go for research – for example, rope research, or studies on where the whales are. The council decided to support double-tagging, which provides monitoring oversight of fishermen who take advantage of a law that allows them to fish 49 percent of their traps in a neighboring zone. One man said that, before fishermen are allowed to jump zone, there should be some way to ensure that they’re fishing the 51 percent in their own zone. The council voted to sign on to a letter to DMR Commissioner George Lapointe, drafted by Mr. Carter, that deplores the recent reduction in sentence for a lobster fisherman. There was some thought that, with the fishery falling off, penalties should be stricter, and should be strictly upheld, for violations such as the taking of shorts and V-notched lobsters. The matter is in discussion by the Lobster Advisory Council. “The taking of shorts and V-notched lobsters is the most damaging thing we can do to the resource,” the letter says. “In this time of falling lobster landings, our and your most important job is protecting the resource. Now, more than ever, we need strong leadership to hold people accountable for their actions.” “This letter at least says that Zone B wants to do something,” said Mr. Carter. |
