Warwick, R.I. – A regional lobster management board today decided to put aside a five-year moratorium on lobster fishing in waters south of Cape Cod.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will instead look at other ways to address the decrease in lobster population.
The commission recommended a second study to determine the extent of the lobster crisis in the southern New England area, this time conducted by a team of independent experts.
The commission's lobster management board said that they want the data to be reviewed again because what's being proposed is "substantial."
“This is an initial victory for the lobstermen of Connecticut,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District. “Jobs and a New England way of life are on the line, and I am pleased that ASMFC has for the moment rejected a ban and instead ordered a new study on lobsters. I have heard over and over that the numbers in ASMFC’s study do not match what lobstermen are seeing on the water. With an entire industry and families in potential peril, a ban would have been unacceptable.”
The commission's technical committee had proposed a five-year moratorium on commercial and recreational lobster fishing in all waters south of Cape Cod, including Long Island Sound. Board members called the report monumental and surprising.
Mark Gibson, deputy chief for the marine fisheries R.I. division of fish and wildlife, said the National Marine Fisheries Services would choose an independent party to review the data. The board hopes to have those findings ready for their annual meeting in November.
Lobstermen questioned who would conduct the review. Nick Crismale, president of the Connecticut Lobstermen Association, stressed that it should be a team of qualified people.
"This is almost biblical, putting lobstermen out of service for this moratorium," Crismale said.
Several lobstermen have had differing opinions on the current stock assessments. Based on the trawl surveys conducted in April, the lobster population in 2009 was estimated to be 14 million pounds in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts waters. That's the lowest it's been since the early 1980s.
"I've read your data but I'm seeing a different story in my traps," said Albert Rosinha, a lobsterman out of Massachusetts, who said the lobster ban would put five or six lobster boats in his area out of business.
Board members held a lengthy discussion on the technical committee's data presented and questioned if additional data or techniques should have been considered. The board is planning to draft the terms of reference at its August meeting.
Almost 200 people gathered for the board meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, R.I. The board also talked about the federal disaster declaration process and after a short break, is planning to talk about alternative proposals for restoring the lobster population.
Board members emphasized that there will be no final decision on the moratorium proposal at today's meeting.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will instead look at other ways to address the decrease in lobster population.
The commission recommended a second study to determine the extent of the lobster crisis in the southern New England area, this time conducted by a team of independent experts.
The commission's lobster management board said that they want the data to be reviewed again because what's being proposed is "substantial."
“This is an initial victory for the lobstermen of Connecticut,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District. “Jobs and a New England way of life are on the line, and I am pleased that ASMFC has for the moment rejected a ban and instead ordered a new study on lobsters. I have heard over and over that the numbers in ASMFC’s study do not match what lobstermen are seeing on the water. With an entire industry and families in potential peril, a ban would have been unacceptable.”
The commission's technical committee had proposed a five-year moratorium on commercial and recreational lobster fishing in all waters south of Cape Cod, including Long Island Sound. Board members called the report monumental and surprising.
Mark Gibson, deputy chief for the marine fisheries R.I. division of fish and wildlife, said the National Marine Fisheries Services would choose an independent party to review the data. The board hopes to have those findings ready for their annual meeting in November.
Lobstermen questioned who would conduct the review. Nick Crismale, president of the Connecticut Lobstermen Association, stressed that it should be a team of qualified people.
"This is almost biblical, putting lobstermen out of service for this moratorium," Crismale said.
Several lobstermen have had differing opinions on the current stock assessments. Based on the trawl surveys conducted in April, the lobster population in 2009 was estimated to be 14 million pounds in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts waters. That's the lowest it's been since the early 1980s.
"I've read your data but I'm seeing a different story in my traps," said Albert Rosinha, a lobsterman out of Massachusetts, who said the lobster ban would put five or six lobster boats in his area out of business.
Board members held a lengthy discussion on the technical committee's data presented and questioned if additional data or techniques should have been considered. The board is planning to draft the terms of reference at its August meeting.
Almost 200 people gathered for the board meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, R.I. The board also talked about the federal disaster declaration process and after a short break, is planning to talk about alternative proposals for restoring the lobster population.
Board members emphasized that there will be no final decision on the moratorium proposal at today's meeting.
Great news in my opinion, that they just didn't close it down.
Now I will just have to deal with losing more fluke rigs on the lines
This is a little more of a blow by blow article on the issue
WARWICK, R.I. —
It's a tiny sliver of the New England economy, but lobstering attracted jumbo attention at a public meeting Thursday in Rhode Island on a proposed five-year ban, which a Connecticut lobsterman called "almost biblical."
More than 100 people at the Crowne Plaza Hotel watched the lobster management board, part of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, debate how best to boost the dwindling lobster population from Cape Cod to North Carolina. Among the options: a five-year ban on harvesting.
Although the seven-hour meeting provided no resolution, the board shifted focus from a moratorium toward less severe measures. One motion passed calls for the committee that initially proposed the moratorium to evaluate three alternatives: reducing lobster fishing by 75 percent, 50 percent or maintaining the status quo.
Still, some lobstermen objected to a cut of those sizes. Michael Grimshaw, president of the Southern New England Fishermen's and Lobstermen's Association, said a 50 percent reduction would destroy the Connecticut lobster industry.
The lobster management board's next meeting will be in two weeks. A decision is not expected till November and could come as late as next spring.
At Thursday's meeting, attended by roughly a dozen Connecticut lobstermen, regional lobstermen expressed fierce opposition to a moratorium. Nick Crismale, president of the Connecticut Commercial Lobstermen's Association, said that the final review — which could be conducted over the next several months — should be made by experts who understand the needs of local lobstermen.
"This is almost biblical what you're proposing here — to put an industry out for five years," said Crismale. "There's a lot of guys here today who are giving up the day's fishing and are not being compensated, and there are a lot of people sitting here on this board who are being compensated. All I can say is that we have people on this board who are qualified."
Connecticut state Rep. Craig Miner, R- Litchfield, who sits on the lobster board, also expressed concern about the moratorium in an interview during a lunch break.
"There's enough concern that the impact of anything that looks like a moratorium would be catastrophic," Miner said, "and we better be damn sure that we have as much information as possible before we make that decision."
Connecticut's roughly 20 full-time commercial lobstermen have seen the regional lobster population decline significantly in the past decade due to pollution, warmer waters and an explosion of predators, such as the striped bass, that prey on lobsters, they say. Meanwhile, the price of lobster has plummeted amid the recession as consumers cut down on products typically considered luxury goods.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal urged a rejection of the ban, arguing that Connecticut lobstermen should not be punished for a problem they did not create. Instead, Blumenthal proposed other measures, such as reducing the catch of egg-bearing female lobsters and establishing no-harvest areas as a way of shoring up the local lobster population.
The lobster population in the area, including Long Island Sound, peaked at an estimated 37 million in 1998, but has since dwindled to about 15 million.
According to The Fisheries Exchange, which tracks seafood prices, markets are typically selling lobster for an average of $3.99 to $4.99 a pound — although prices are higher in some places. That's down from a more typical price of $10 to $12 a pound a few years ago, according to The Fisheries Exchange.
Now I will just have to deal with losing more fluke rigs on the lines
This is a little more of a blow by blow article on the issue
WARWICK, R.I. —
It's a tiny sliver of the New England economy, but lobstering attracted jumbo attention at a public meeting Thursday in Rhode Island on a proposed five-year ban, which a Connecticut lobsterman called "almost biblical."
More than 100 people at the Crowne Plaza Hotel watched the lobster management board, part of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, debate how best to boost the dwindling lobster population from Cape Cod to North Carolina. Among the options: a five-year ban on harvesting.
Although the seven-hour meeting provided no resolution, the board shifted focus from a moratorium toward less severe measures. One motion passed calls for the committee that initially proposed the moratorium to evaluate three alternatives: reducing lobster fishing by 75 percent, 50 percent or maintaining the status quo.
Still, some lobstermen objected to a cut of those sizes. Michael Grimshaw, president of the Southern New England Fishermen's and Lobstermen's Association, said a 50 percent reduction would destroy the Connecticut lobster industry.
The lobster management board's next meeting will be in two weeks. A decision is not expected till November and could come as late as next spring.
At Thursday's meeting, attended by roughly a dozen Connecticut lobstermen, regional lobstermen expressed fierce opposition to a moratorium. Nick Crismale, president of the Connecticut Commercial Lobstermen's Association, said that the final review — which could be conducted over the next several months — should be made by experts who understand the needs of local lobstermen.
"This is almost biblical what you're proposing here — to put an industry out for five years," said Crismale. "There's a lot of guys here today who are giving up the day's fishing and are not being compensated, and there are a lot of people sitting here on this board who are being compensated. All I can say is that we have people on this board who are qualified."
Connecticut state Rep. Craig Miner, R- Litchfield, who sits on the lobster board, also expressed concern about the moratorium in an interview during a lunch break.
"There's enough concern that the impact of anything that looks like a moratorium would be catastrophic," Miner said, "and we better be damn sure that we have as much information as possible before we make that decision."
Connecticut's roughly 20 full-time commercial lobstermen have seen the regional lobster population decline significantly in the past decade due to pollution, warmer waters and an explosion of predators, such as the striped bass, that prey on lobsters, they say. Meanwhile, the price of lobster has plummeted amid the recession as consumers cut down on products typically considered luxury goods.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal urged a rejection of the ban, arguing that Connecticut lobstermen should not be punished for a problem they did not create. Instead, Blumenthal proposed other measures, such as reducing the catch of egg-bearing female lobsters and establishing no-harvest areas as a way of shoring up the local lobster population.
The lobster population in the area, including Long Island Sound, peaked at an estimated 37 million in 1998, but has since dwindled to about 15 million.
According to The Fisheries Exchange, which tracks seafood prices, markets are typically selling lobster for an average of $3.99 to $4.99 a pound — although prices are higher in some places. That's down from a more typical price of $10 to $12 a pound a few years ago, according to The Fisheries Exchange.