Coastal Outlook: Thoughts From MLCA President Patrice McCarron

What’s not to like on the Maine coast in July? Blue skies, almost warm water, picnics and clam bakes and lobster boat races abound. It’s time to get outside and enjoy what the coast has to offer. This month Landings offers its readers a chance to learn about the history of one of the oldest lobster smacks still operating in Maine. Bajupa has traveled amid the Penobscot Bay islands and Matinicus Island for more than 70 years, bringing bait, fuel and other fishing supplies to lobstermen and conveying their catches to the mainland. The boat, which was hauled this winter in Rockland for repairs, is known for its elegant lines, the product of boatbuilder Robert Rich’s skill in 1946.

Bajupa and the other fishing smacks that once plied the coast did more than just move lobsters and supplies back and forth; they provided a multipurpose link between the mainland and remote islands throughout the year. A different sort of tradition has returned to the town of Harpswell this year. After a four-year hiatus, the lobster boat races will take place again, on July 29 at Pott’s Harbor. There will be 31 race classes, ranging from non-working boats to Novi boats, with first-, second- and third-place finishers. A dedicated committee of volunteers worked hard to bring the races back to town and is looking forward to a great day on the water. On a more serious note, July is also the month in which the Department of Marine Resources’ vertical line project kicks off. The three-year project will study the strength of rope used by lobstermen in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The study will document what types of rope lobstermen use for their vertical lines and how those lines are rigged, determine the functional breaking strength of existing vertical lines, and record the hauling loads fishermen experience while raising their traps at sea. The study is of vital importance to Maine’s lobstermen because the recent deaths of 18 North Atlantic right whales in Canadian and U.S. waters ha’ve put greater pressure on the fishery to minimize its impact on right whales. By studying how vertical lines work and, most importantly, at what level of pressure they break, critical data will be made available this fall to federal agencies charged with identifying new measures to protect the whales.Landings also looks at the status of the herring fishery.

Herring are a preferred bait for Maine lobstermen, who have seen the price for fresh and frozen herring rise steadily for the past five years. Now an amendment to the federal fishery management plan for herring requires that the plan consider the ecological role herring play in the larger Gulf of Maine food web. That means fishery managers could allocate a larger portion of the overall stock to remain in the ocean, resulting in a smaller allocation for herring fishermen. Complicating the situation is a new benchmark stock assessment for herring. Preliminary results indicate that the stock has diminished due to the absence of young herring in the population. Should the final assessment confirm the stock’s low biomass, additional cuts to the annual herring quota are likely. This will be bad news for the region’s lobstermen.

In addition to changes in the herring population, there have been changes in an even more important marine species, a tiny copepod called Calanus finmarchicus, as Landings explores. C. finmarchicus is the preferred food of just about everything in the Gulf of Maine — whales, seabirds, fish and juvenile lobsters. Due to warming deep water temperatures, however, the cold-water copepod appears to have shifted its presence and the timing of its spring emergence from dormancy. This subtle change has major ramifications for the North Atlantic right whale, as our article notes. The median age of Maine lobstermen is 50 years old, meaning that half of the state’s lobstermen are older and half younger. For those approaching the grand old age of 65, thoughts turn to the intricacies of Medicare insurance. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association health insurance Navigator writes this month about Medicare’s four parts, the best time to sign up for each, and the nuances of Medicare coverage. MLA Navigator Bridget Thornton is available to answer additional questions that lobstermen may have about this important federal health insurance program. Finally, Landings profiles Mary Coombs of Bailey Island as part of our “People of the Coast” series. Coombs is a well-known member of the area’s community of fishermen and fishing families, as well as long-time general manager of Cook’s Lobster and Ale House.

An energetic and cheerful woman, Coombs has put her time and enthusiasm into numerous fundraising efforts designed to help fishermen and their communities. Coombs is an example of the indefatigable women found throughout Maine’s fishing communities, who do what needs to be done in times of disaster or in times of plenty. Here’s to you, Mary!I hope that you enjoy this issue of Landings, and I welcome your feedback.