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FROM THE CROWE’S NEST
Fishermen rarely see eye to eye with managers and scientists. But a couple of things are developing that may change this seascape. One is the demand for more and better data on the lobster fishery. The other is the widespread concern over external environmental impacts to the lobster habitat. Fishermen and scientists are both calling for better data in these areas. Not all data is good data and not all science is good science. Fishermen fear that data collected will come back to bite them. The use of the bogus old model to assess the lobster stock produces negative impacts across the board. Fishermen can say its wrong but they can’t prove it to management. A pending lobster collapse that flips over to read the stock’s in great shape does not necessarily increase confidence either. The demand for good data will likely bring mandatory reporting of landings in Maine. But what else data and science bring to the system can be more in the hands of the fishermen. Scientists say research in Maine is under funded, if so, then management is under informed. The federal funding system is slow, complicated and unable to respond quickly enough. Fishermen at the Lobstermen’s Town Hall this year talked about funding research themselves with a reasonable self imposed fee. The reserve funds would be immediately available and directed by the fishermen. They also spoke of the need for themselves to be better organized to effectively keep a grip on the shifting realities of their fishery. Management and science are highly organized. They are, if not the research, also funded. This is the source of their strength. Lobstermen got together in the 1950s to defend themselves against price fixing charges. Out of that came the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. The fishery has changed dramatically in the last 50 years, but good fishermen directed research might say more about the changes, without biting back. |
