Looking At Limited
Entry Lobster
by Laurie Schreiber
Issac Beal fishing off Jonesport. The DMR Commissioner has been tasked with seeking an independent assessment of the limited entry system for lobster. The current limited entry system has been in place for 15 years. Tags, rather than licenses, are seen as the measure of effort. The debate ranges from effort control to control of the resource. ©Photo by Sam Murfitt
The Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee took testimony at a May 10 hearing regarding a proposed bill to conduct an independent analysis of the limited entry lobster license system.
LD 1532, “Resolve, Directing the Commissioner of Marine Resources To Contract for an Independent Analysis of the Limited Entry Lobster License System,” sponsored by Rep. Dianne Tilton (District 33), says the analysis of the system “must include an evaluation of the costs and benefits of the limited entry system and determine whether the benefits, including the benefits of conservation, outweigh the costs, including the impact of restrictions on entry to the lobster fishing industry. The contract must be funded using existing resources of the Department of Marine Resources. The commissioner shall provide the analysis to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters by January 15, 2013.”
