Guest Column: Marine Patrol Officers Busy in the Field

Marine Patrol Officers are busy with all the fall activities taking place on the coast. We could not be prouder of our current workforce and the eff orts they have made this past summer given that we had two recent retirements and lost an additional two officers.

Recruitment and retention continue to challenge the Bureau, however, we have worked hard to overcome these issues and I believe progress is being made. In early October, three new Marine Patrol Officers were sworn in. These officers will be a welcome addition to our workforce and we are anxious to get them trained and on board. They will be assigned to the Cobscook, Tenants Harbor and Kittery Patrols. In the case of Kittery, we have not had an officer there for quite some time now so this is good news.

In addition, Marine Patrol has three potential new officers. These folks have aways to go, but if successful they will be on board by spring. We are fortunate that Patrol can fill vacancies given tight budgets. Credit goes to Governor LePage and the current administration for allowing this process to move forward unimpeded.

In other news, Patrol is overseeing the completion of a 26-foot Marine Patrol vessel that will be going to Stonington this fall/early winter to be used by the two officers assigned to that area.

This vessel is being purchased with federal funds and will enhance our ability to patrol in inclement weather and inspect lobster gear. We also are getting ready to put out to bid construction of a new Homeland Security vessel that, when procured in the spring, will supplement our Protector fleet. This vessel is being purchased with federal port grant funds. It will be used primarily as a platform to inspect commercial fishing operations but also by our Maritime Security Team. Lastly, we are looking to either build or purchase another off shore lobster-style vessel to replace one of our aging vessels. This boat will be in the 45- to 50-foot range and will be purchased with federal money through our joint enforcement agreement with NOAA. The vessel will be used primarily for off shore details and lobster gear inspections. We hope to have the boat in place before the end of 2018.

Officers have been occupied by trap molesting complaints and tag compliance both at sea and at the dock. There was a scare when scattered reports of dead lobsters in traps came in last month around the Harpswell area. It appears that this occurrence has subsided. Officers in the Boothbay region assisted the Coast Guard when a collision occurred between two lobster boats which led to one of the boats sinking. Fortunately, there were no injuries.

Field Officers in Division II, covering Belfast to the Canadian border, focused a great deal of time, eff ort and resources on a trap limit investigation in Hancock County. Officers spent several weeks investigating and monitoring the violation. The ensuing charges demonstrated two things: that Patrol can make these types of cases, but that to succeed Patrol needs to dedicate a great deal of time, eff ort and resources to the process. Officers also addressed trawl limit violations, untagged gear and illegal lobster violations. Officers Downeast also have stayed active in the Grey Zone, performing numerous patrols in that area to monitor the boundary line and manage gear conflict. There were also two lobster boat sinkings in the Mount Desert Island area investigated by Patrol with no injuries.

I attended both the recent MLA directors’ meeting in Belfast and a meeting with fishermen in Cutler. Both meetings centered on Patrol’s relationship with the fishing industry and the actions that Patrol and industry can take to enhance relations. As I have mentioned before, we have some very young Marine Patrol Officers and with that youth comes a high level of motivation and a lower level of experience. We are asking fishermen to make these new officers welcome and to be patient as they learn the tools that they will need to be effective within the community. We make every eff ort to ingrain into new officers that they must earn the trust and respect of the fishermen they oversee. No officer has ever been successful without support from his or her local fishermen. This working relationship is the cornerstone of any success an officer may have within their Patrol. A high level of mutual respect is always the goal.

Recently because of legislative action spurred by leadership within the lobster industry, lobstermen who commit serious lobster fishing-related violations will face mandatory minimum administrative license penalties. It was clear through this long and arduous process to get the law passed this past spring that fishermen who are obeying the regulations that govern their fishery are fed up with those who are not. Not only do honest fishermen view those cheating as threats to the future of the fishery from a conservation standpoint, they also see the economic disparity and the unfair advantage that those fishing illegally have over them. Many fishermen recognize that as long as cheating exists, whether it be in the form of fishing excessive traps or keeping illegal lobsters, it will diminish the overall health of the lobster fishery.

These same fishermen expect the Department of Marine Resources and its enforcement branch, Maine Marine Patrol, to deal with these transgressions. With the catch and price down this season there will be additional pressure in some cases to take advantage in order to pay the bills. Some fishermen will see this as a business decision when they decide to fish extra traps, fish sunken trawls, or scrub a female lobster. But they also will need to decide if the risk of losing their license for several years is worth the extra income. I can point you in the direction of a few fishermen who will tell you that it is not. Recently a fisherman was summonsed for fishing over the limit and another for scrubbing female lobsters. Both these fishermen stand to lose their licenses for a long time if found at fault. If you asked them, do you think they’d say it was worth it?

Each time Patrol makes a case involving fishing additional lobster traps illegally, other fishermen start to bring in gear, demonstrating to us that a problem definitely exists. Patrol will be making more of these cases. The cost to the violator is higher than it has ever been.