Sternmen, license holders equally liable

First published in Landings, July, 2014.

Lobstermen along the coast say that they have noticed that the Department of Marine Resources Marine Patrol Bureau appears to be citing sternmen for violations much more frequently than in the past. “Not so,” said Lt. Rene Cloutier of Division I (New Hampshire border to St. George River). “There have been more high profile cases that have been in the paper so more people read about the citations.”

Sternmen have always been liable for violations of lobster harvesting laws, just as the lobster license holder is. “There is no explicit law that says which parties are liable for violations,” explained Deirdre Gilbert, DMR director of marine policy, in an email. “Instead there is a definition of the word ‘possession’ that was enacted in 1985. Under that definition, possession means “to have in one’s custody or control, either personally, or by another who is under one’s control.” So, in the instance of illegal lobsters, both the sternman and the captain possess them by definition, so either or both could be written up.”

Maine lobstermen are captains of their own vessels and as such are legally responsible for all activities on their boat. They generally delegate to the sternman the responsibility of measuring each lobster’s carapace to determine if the lobster meets legal size requirements. Sternmen typically show the captain any lobster that might be of questionable legality.

Citing the sternman for a violation is a matter of discretion, according to Cloutier. “Sometimes in an inspection we’ll find lots of shorts. The captain says that he does the measuring so why cite the sternman then?” Cloutier said. “If the sternman measures then he should and does have the responsibility [for the violation]. The third man, he generally has nothing to do with it. He’s stuffing dead fish in a bag.”

Recently major violations have made front page headlines in Maine newspapers. In 2013, a midcoast lobsterman and his son were charged with bringing in to Rockland more than 400 v-notched lobsters. The two men had faced fines of more than $190,000 but a plea agreement reduced the number of illegal lobsters to 120 and the fine to $25,000. In May this year an Orland lobsterman was charged with possession of 123 short lobsters and 269 v-notched lobsters. He faces possible fines of more than $100,000.

Most lobstermen, however, take the prohibitions against landing under- or over-sized lobsters, egg-bearing female lobsters, and v-notched lobsters very seriously. One Owls Head lobsterman, who asked not to be named, said in mid-June that he had just let his sternman go because the man had allowed too many shorts in the crates too many times. “Three times and you’re out,” the lobsterman declared.

Cloutier emphasized that many of the violations found by Marine Patrol officers are not dramatic in size or frequency. “But if it’s serious enough, the sternman will have his right to obtain a license suspended. That means that he can’t engage in any activity under the captain’s license,” he explained. The sternman thus is out of a job.