A new voice emerges among Maine's fishing associations

First published in the MLA Newsletter, July, 2012.

Fishermen are not, as a rule, known for being cooperative. Yet the success of many fishing industry organizations in Maine suggests that people have been able to put their differences aside and come together as a voice for their particular fishery. Just this spring, a new shrimp association formed to give shrimp trappers a stronger voice.

Stephenie Pinkham, the founder and executive director of the Maine Shrimp Trappers Association (MSTA), said the association was formed after the shrimp season this past year was cut short by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). “This year ASMFC divided trappers and trawlers. They didn’t do it on purpose, but we ended up not having a season because of it,” she said. Shrimp trappers began their season on February 1 and then were closed down when the total allowable catch limit was reached on February 17.

“Trappers felt like they were sold out. We couldn’t go out until February 1 and had a trip limit of a thousand pounds a day. We only got 17 days,” said MSTA member Arnie Gamage of South Bristol. He said trappers were given a trip limit of one thousand pounds a day while trawlers had no catch limit, just a time limit each day they went out. “When we could go out, the weather was nasty. I got out thirteen out of the seventeen days.” But, he said, it was probably what the shrimp trappers deserved since not many people attended meetings when the catch limit was set.

“Johnny Seiders and I were the only two trappers at the October meeting held to set the season. We got what was handed to us. We really needed to organize and get a voice at the meetings,” Gamage said. Pinkham said she got encouragement from Terry Stockwell from the Department of Marine Resources to organize a group of trappers. “Now we have representation at meetings. Timmy Simmons [MSTA president] just met with the governor,” Gamage said with pride. He said the group is not against shrimp trawlers, they just want to be treated fairly and have a chance to fish. “Just because we are also lobstermen doesn’t mean we trap shrimp for fun. It’s part of our income.”

“The association is great. The current board is full of energy. It’s still new to them. They are travelling around the state, taking money out of their own pockets to do so. That’s why I want to see the membership grow – it costs money to travel,” Gamage said with experience from serving as director to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

Jeffrey Peirce, executive director and founder of the Alewife Harvesters of Maine said they, too, formed to give the fishery a stronger voice in the management process. “We started in February 2007. We were driven by Amendment 2 [to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan]. I got a letter in the mail from ASMFC that said ‘Dear former alewife harvester’. It was a wake-up call,” Peirce said. The amendment would have closed the fishery on January 1, 2012 unless a sustainable management plan was developed and submitted for approval by January 1, 2010.

“After that I attended a meeting about the amendment. I found out there had been two others in the state, but they were not well publicized,” Peirce said. “We got a group of 50 people to attend the next meeting. If we hadn’t gone, or if there were only three of us, we probably wouldn’t have had a fishery. We needed to show the state that we care.”

Right now, the biggest issue alewife harvesters are facing is the potential for the fish to be listed as an endangered species. “They could be listed as threatened or endangered in part of the country. We wouldn’t have an industry if they are listed,” Peirce said from Gloucester, Massachusetts where he was attending a meeting about the health of the alewife stock. He emphasized that the alewife harvesters are inextricably linked to Maine’s lobstermen. “If it weren’t for the lobstermen, there wouldn’t be alewife harvesters. We supply them with bait, they supply us with income.”

The organization’s goal is to conserve alewives and the river-fishing heritage of Maine. Attending meetings to represent harvesters is one way the group works to accomplish their goal. “We mail out information to our members, have a Web site with information posted regularly, and make phone calls to inform people about important events and changes in policy,” Peirce said.

The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association also works to give a voice to the few small boat groundfishermen left in the state. The association, formally the Mid Coast Fishermen’s Association, not only makes sure fishermen are aware of policy changes and issues, but also works with fishermen on business planning and management. “We’ve done a lot of work with the Island Institute and the Nature Conservancy as well,” added executive director Ben Martens.

The association was formed in 2006 by a group of Port Clyde fishermen when discussions were beginning about shifting from days-at-sea to sector management. “They felt marginalized and over-looked in the management process,” Martens said. Membership is made up of just fishermen right now, explained Martens, but the association plans to enlist community members as well. The board of directors is made up of both fishermen and community members.

“Maine has seen the largest reduction in groundfishermen in New England. We would like to rebuild the fishery and bring it back,” Martens said. “But it will take more than policy changes to bring it back. That’s why we are doing business planning as well. We want the guys to be able to have a successful business.”

Martens enjoys being part of a diverse group of fishermen who have been able to come together and do what is best for their fishery. “We’ve seen guys that have never worked together coming together now. It’s been great to see them sharing ideas.”