Proposed Increase to Minimum Size Requirements for Maine Lobster Catch Withdrawn

The State Department of Marine Resources has announced a decision to withdraw a proposed rule to increase the minimum size requirements for lobster to be caught in Maine. They also pledged that lobstermen will be consulted in any future conservation proposals for the fishery.

Maine Congressman Jared Golden: I have always said that Maine’s lobstermen are the best, most informed conservationists for this precious and storied fishery. Lobstermen have been saying for months that the proposed gauge increase was not only a risk to their livelihoods and their communities, but an unnecessary overreaction to questionable stock data. I’m proud of them for going to the mat for their industry, and glad their voices have been heard and that DMR has pledged to give the lobstermen a seat at the table in determining what conservation efforts, if any, are needed to protect their fishery.

At a hearing about proposed rulemaking in Augusta, DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher announced his agency would withdraw the rule pending new stock survey data and include fishermen in data collection. He further pledged that Maine lobstermen will be included in crafting any future conservation strategies designed to protect stock levels in the Gulf of Maine.

Lobstermen use a gauge to measure each lobster’s carapace from eye socket to tail. Under current rules, those that are smaller than the minimum gauge size of 3.25 inches must be put back in the water so they can grow, protecting the lobster population for the future.

Earlier this year, data from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) indicated lobster stock had declined by more than 35 percent in Lobster Management Area 1, the largest management area in the Maine fishery, triggering the need for new conservation measures. DMR proposed a gauge increase of one-sixteenth of one inch — two times larger than the last gauge increase 30 years ago.

Maine fishermen have questioned the data used to justify these changes, including concerns that ASMFC stock data is out of date. In addition to questions about the reliability of the data, Golden and Maine fishermen have raised concerns about how an increased minimum size requirement would put Maine lobstermen at a competitive disadvantage with Canadian harvesters.

More on the decision HERE.

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