Limited Entry, Young
Want In, Seniors Out
by Laurie Schreiber
David Haskell's Molly Ryan, of North Haven heading out of Rockland last spring with a load of traps. A record lobster catch last year was accompanied by low boat prices, debates about imported bait, limited entry and what is by now the perennial rise of fuel costs. Overall the lobster resource remains healthy. ©Photo by Sam Murfitt
The lobster industries in both Maine and Canada are engaged in an ongoing process to ensure that young, would-be fishermen are able to get into the fishery, and that seniors can comfortably retire.
The industries, working with their governments, are tweaking their entry/exist systems with an eye toward ensuring a sustainable fishery for generations to come.
That was the basic picture drawn during a comparative discussion of entry and exit systems in the United States and Canada, during the annual Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen’s Town Meeting, sponsored by the Orono-based Lobster Institute and held March 23-24 in Portland.
