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Farmers and Fishermen: Stewards of Land and Sea
Once the envy of the world for its abundance, in recent decades the Gulf of Maine resource has plunged in productivity. There are currently no ground fish boats east of Port Clyde. The number of active ground fish boats in the state is tiny compared to what it was just a few decades ago. Ames said that in 2004 there were more cod caught in Frenchmen’s Bay than on the entire coast of Maine. Ames is a member of The Downeast Initiative, a Stonington based group that, among other things, promotes the local control of fisheries. “We are the local fisheries version of local farming,” he said. Ames criticized management plans for favoring industrial fishing methods that have destroyed fish habitat, spawning areas and the local communities that have for centuries relied on them. Underlining the loss of traditional, local control, he said that it was “unbelieveable that, in a harbor with 300 fishing boats, consumers have to go to Portland or Canada for fresh fish.” Asked about draggers in the Gulf, he said, “90% of the fish caught in the Gulf are caught by draggers. They are the elephant in the garden.” Ames said that if they could be kept out of sections of the garden, the spawning and nursery sections, then the rest of the garden would have a chance of being maintained. Like organic farmers, the Downeast Initiative is calling for stewardship. “Habitat destruction in Maine,” Ames said, “has depleted nearly all Maine fisheries. With the power of technology today it is possible to wipe out any fish population on the planet. And, if there are no fish, there are no fishermen. Fishermen will disappear as sure as the buffalo hunters.” In Maine, all fisheries have collapsed except one—lobster. It is the only fishery, a $280 million industry, which keeps coastal communities alive. But, it is also an example of how to rebuild a fishery. In the 1930’s the lobster fishery collapsed. Fishermen were lucky to get 12-14 pounds a day. Some say the lobster boom today is because there are no cod to eat the young lobster. But, the pilgrims reported millions of lobster washing ashore after storms. At a time when the cod was super abundant. The reason the lobster fishery is healthy today is that in the 1930’s a program was started to protect juvenile lobster with a gauge, protect brood stock with a V-notch, and protect habitat by limiting harvest to trap only. By doing this, they prevented the industrial take-over of the fishery. It is also owner-operated. If you’re not in the boat you can’t haul, and if you don’t own a boat you can’t get a license. According to Ames, it is this same kind of internal management, focused on the spawning, growth, habitat and development of the fish, which is needed in the ground fishery. The goal is local control of where and how the fish live, how they are caught, and where they are sold; all by the fishermen who catch them. The Maine lobster fishery is the proven model for this approach. Ames referred to the difficulty in getting the federal fisheries managers, the Naitional Marine Fisheries Service to listen to the widely held belief that aligning management practices with what was done for centuries is the key to enabling the resource to recover and sustain itself. Before the development of high impact, high input, industrial fishing machinery in the 20th century, fishermen were unable to have large scale negative effects. Ames is working to develop grassroots support for a systems based sustainable fisheries plan. Fishermen in Port Clyde have formed the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association which has made gear and marketing changes. The Northeast Atlantic Marine Alliance is another fishermen’s organization that supports local control and management. The Downeast Initiative is in Stonington, Maine www.penobscoteast.org/dei.asp. |
