Management 8/0

L A N D I N G S
NEWS & VIEWS FROM MAINE'S LOBSTERING COMMUNITY

In January 2013, the MLCA launched Landings, a monthly newspaper which balances

its content amongst science, history, resource sustainability, economic development,

and human interest stories. Through Landings, MLCA educates the public and lobster

industry stakeholders about the unique characteristics of Maine’s lobstering traditions,

its history and heritage, ongoing research to maintain the sustainability of the resource,

and its non-harmful and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices.

Distributing more than 6,500 copies of this 24+page publication free via mail each

month to all of Maine’s commercial lobstermen, state government agency staff, elected

state officials, Congressional delegation, subscribers, marine businesses; and to the

public at various locations around the state including ferry terminals, marine supply

stores and annual educational forums.

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Are you ready for the 2019 bait crisis?

Imagine that a barrel of herring bait costs $500. Your bait is rationed to only a few trays per day. Several days each week there is no...

Management

Aug 4, 20183 min read

MLA News: Herring Updates

Herring Updates 2018 Herring Landings The Atlantic herring fishery season opened on June 3 with four consecutive landing days per week. There is a 480,000 pound (12 trucks) weekly landing limit per vessel of which 80,000 pounds (two trucks) can be transferred. Those with category C and D permits that use small mesh bottom trawl may land seven consecutive days/week. Catcher vessels may transfer to other catcher vessels to avoid dumping or wasting fish. Atlantic Herring Landing

Management

Jul 28, 20182 min read

Tiny Copepod Causes Quivers in Gulf of Maine Food Web

It’s hard to imagine but the well-being of animals as diverse as the giant North Atlantic right whale and the diminutive herring are dependent on a creature the size of a grain of rice: Calanus finmarchicus, a cold-water copepod. C. finmarchicus is the dominant species of copepod found throughout the Gulf of Maine, the southern-most extent of its range. It’s the preferred food of just about every creature in the Gulf because it is like a floating French fry — C. finmarchicus

Management

Jul 22, 20184 min read

Guest Column: Canadian Lobster Fishery Works to Protect Right Whales

One of the most critical issues facing the lobster sector in North America is how we work together to manage fishery interactions with the North Atlantic right whales (NARW).It goes without saying that the lobster sector in Canada and the United States must do everything possible to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The impact that the 18 reported deaths in 2017 has had on the entire NARW population cannot be overstated. However, some of the reporting to date has contai

Management

Jul 18, 20183 min read

Vital Study of Lobster Gear Begins This Month

The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) study of vertical lines used in the lobster fishery kicks off in full this month. The three-year project, funded by a $714,000 grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Section 6 Species Recovery program, will study the strength of rope used by lobstermen in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Erin Summers is the lead investigator for DMR. “The project’s primary goals are to document what ty

Management

Jul 16, 20184 min read

Quota For Herring Expected To Drop In 2019

Nothing chills the hearts of lobstermen more than the prospect of a bait shortage. Herring comprise the majority of bait purchased by Maine’s approximately 4,500 licensed lobstermen and even the whisper of a possible shortage causes lobstermen to mutter grimly over the marine radio. That whisper might become more of a roar later this summer when the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) concludes two herring-related activities: release of a new benchmark stock assess

Management

Jul 14, 20183 min read

ASMFC Focuses on Mackerel/Herring Quota and Lobster Stock Assessment

During the last month there has been a fair amount of discussion about accountability measures in the Atlantic mackerel fishery and potential impacts to the herring fishery. As a reminder, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) oversees the fishery management plan for Atlantic mackerel. In February of this year, the river herring/shad catch cap was harvested in the Atlantic mackerel fishery, prompting a 20,000-pound trip limit in the mackerel fishery to be imple

People & Places

Jun 26, 20182 min read

DMR's Policy on Changing Over Trap Tags

Attention lobstermen: 2017 lobster trap tags are valid from January 1 through May 31, 2018. Fishermen can attach 2018 trap tags before June 1 but must have a 2017 tag attached to the trap as well. There has been some concern among fishermen about setting new gear without the current year tags before June 1. This situation is no different than setting new gear in October: a lobsterman would have to remove a valid tag from the gear he is replacing and hog ring it into the new

Management

Jun 24, 20182 min read

Steaming Ahead

Out of the frying pan into the fire…. We can now add a pending bait crisis to the list of major issues facing the Maine lobster industry....

Management

Jun 14, 20182 min read

New Three-Year Research Project On Vertical Lines Begins In July

In May, the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) was awarded a three-year, $714,000 grant by the National Marine Fisheries Service Section 6 Species Recovery Grant program to assess the use of vertical lines in fixed gear fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. The objective is to analyze existing vertical lines in different parts of the Gulf of Maine to inform management decisions to strengthen protections for right whales in the region. The project will document the types and riggi

Management

Jun 12, 20184 min read

MLA Files Motion To Enter Court Case

As it has during its 64-year history, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) is once again seeking a place at the table for Maine’s lobstermen in the face of potentially crippling new regulations from federal fisheries managers. The MLA filed its motion on May 30 to become an intervener in a legal suit brought against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) by the Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society of the United States, Defenders of Wildlife and the Conser

Management

Jun 4, 20183 min read

Adaptation Part Of Life For Maine’s Lobstermen

Maine is home to more than 4,800 licensed lobstermen operating along the coast. Those lobstermen represent fishing traditions that go back more than one hundred years. Within the small towns that dot the Maine coast, men and women head to sea each day as their parents and grandparents once did, using their hard-earned skills to capture lobsters and bring them to shore. Now that tradition is at risk as fishery regulators consider the need for increased protections for North At

People & Places

Jun 2, 20185 min read