An Opportunity to Share What You See Happening

By Jeff Putnam, chair, Lobster Advisory Council

All commercial lobster license holders received a survey from the Department

of Marine Resources (DMR) in July. I am writing to provide some context about

why the survey was sent, how it was developed and the importance of providing

your input.

Maine lobstermen are incredibly fortunate to have strong representation on

multiple councils — the lobster zone councils, lobster advisory council, NMFS

take reduction team, lobster conservation management team, and Maine Lobster

Marketing Council, to name a few. I have always viewed this involvement as a collaboration with policy makers and scientists with the goal of protecting the resource and ensuring that it is sustainable for us and the next generation.

The DMR survey sent in July gives lobstermen who avoid meetings the opportunity to share their thoughts about what is going well and not so well in Maine's lobster fishery.

If you have attended any of various council meetings you have seen that the harvesters, dealers, and trade group representatives all speak and provide feedback on any given topic. As the chair of the lobster advisory council I truly appreciate and respect the input people provide.

However, I always wonder what the several thousand other lobstermen who aren’t at the meetings might say or the nuance they might bring to the discussion.

Our recent history has been dominated by the fight to preserve our fishing rights and block federal regulators from implementing widely opposed, top-down restrictions. We have not had the time to discuss what we want our industry to look like in the coming years. The regulatory pause until the end of 2028 on any new right whale regulations has been a huge weight off of our shoulders, and provides us with an opportunity to have an industry-led conversation about our future.

The idea for this survey began at the lobster advisory council level. Members

of the council and the DMR agreed that it was time to reach out to everyone

and give people an opportunity to tell us how you think things are going currently

and if there is anything that you would like to see done differently going

forward.

The survey will be used to shape the agendas of industry-led council meetings

where further discussion will focus on the results and how they differ by area fished, age, and effort.

A group of lobstermen from four different zones, two college professors, and four DMR staff members worked to fine tune the survey questions. We found questions to prioritize, we disagreed on wording at times but would work until we could find a solution. We had five drafts before agreeing on a final version.

Why did we spend so much time putting this together? Because the councils and DMR recognize that only a small percentage of lobstermen can participate in public meetings.

We want to hear from all license holders about their thoughts. I hope you responded to this survey as if you were talking to your fellow fisherman at the wharf, sharing your opinion based on what you see happening with your own eyes.

For more information contact:

Lorraine Morris

Department of Marine Resources

207-441-5319

Lorraine.morris@maine.gov.