Reasons for record catches not understood
RecordMaine's half-billion dollar lobster industry could be heading for a downturn, according to Carl Wilson, director of the Bureau of Marine Science and the state’s leading lobster biologist. In a story in the Portland Press Herald, Wilson also acknowledged that there are some “troubling” indicators that the industry could be headed for a downturn and that the indicators are different from the ones that appeared before the collapse of the fishery in southern New England.
A new proposal to create a new class of license would put more pressure on a lobster population that the industry and regulators agree is already “fully exploited” and has industry and government officials concerned about unforeseen consequences it could have on a fishery that has posted record landings for reasons that are not fully understood.
Uncertainty has fueled concerns that the new lobster and crab licensing bill, L.D. 1503, could put more traps in the water at a time when lobstermen in some zones are complaining of overcrowding. Others worried that the proposal also will subvert zone council systems set up to account for different fishing practices and the recommended number of licenses in a particular area.
Wilson told Maine legislators Wednesday that the proposal likely wouldn’t have a “huge negative impact” on the fishery. He said the effect would probably be the equivalent of the unreported landings of lobster that are cash sales.