LOOKING AT LIMITED ENTRY LOBSTER from Homepage



Willis Beal at Beals Island. “Since the limited entry program was implemented, we’ve learned that controlling numbers of licenses or trap tags at the levels achieved through this system does not directly impact the conservation of the lobster resource. Rather, it is a socio-economic tool that guides who has access to lobster resource.”-David Cousins, MLA  ©Photo by Sam Murfitt

Tilton said the bill arose in response to questions posed to the Legislature’s Regulatory Fairness and Reform Committee, of which she is a member.

“We held several hearings to hear about regulations that were impeding economic growth,” she said. “We heard about regulations that comprise Maine’s limited entry system for lobster fishing….Our committee understood this subject was outside the committee’s expertise and wasn’t something that should be changed lightly. The system is very controversial; it’s riddled with unintended consequences and a sense of unfairness. We are the fairness and reform committee and that’s the message we heard from folks, that limited entry is unfair.”

Tilton said it would be difficult to figure out a better alternative. Generally, she said, licensed fishermen seem to support the system, while those seeking a license tend to want to change it.

Tilton said the goal is to hire an independent evaluator who can provide an objective look at the system’s pros and cons.

“We want to know, essentially, whether the value that this system adds to conservation efforts is worth the avoided income experience by fishermen,” Tilton said.

Tilton noted that the state relies “heavily on a healthy lobster fishery,” but at the cost of fairness to those unable to get a license for the fishery.

Tilton proposed funding the study through the existing Lobster Research, Education and Develop- ment fund, which gets its funding through the sale of specialty lobster license plates. She said a rough estimate for the cost of the study might be $30,000 to $50,000.

“The system has been in effect long enough that we should be able to measure its impacts,” Tilton said.

Maine Lobstermen’s Association president David Cousens said his organization supported the bill – with some caveats.

Cousens’ written statement said the MLA “believes that it is prudent to take a step back and look at what is and is not working with Maine’s limited entry system, which includes the Apprentice Program and the exit to entry ratio system.”

The system has been in place for nearly 15 years, Cousens noted.

“It was set up with the simple goal of reducing the number of licenses to 30 percent of 1997 levels due to concern that effort was too high,” Cousens said. “As the program matured, the goal of the program was changed to achieve a reduction in trap tags, rather than licenses, since tags represent the actual effort in the water.

“Since the limited entry program was implemented, we’ve learned that controlling numbers of licenses or trap tags at the levels achieved through this system does not directly impact the conservation of the lobster resource. Rather, it is a socio-economic tool that guides who has access to lobster resource.”

Still, Cousens said, effort in the lobster fishery has been identified as an area of concern in the most recent lobster stock assessment.

“Scientists have determined that the resource is well managed and sustainable,” he said. “However, the stock assessment recognizes that effort levels are at historic highs, putting the stock at risk of rapid depletion if it is negatively impacted by a recruitment failure or disease event. If Maine’s lobster stocks decline for any reason, our current high levels of effort would exacerbate the problem, making it difficult for the resource to recover.”

An examination of the limited entry system would pertain more directly to how the lobster resource is allocated, Cousens said.

“The Maine lobster fishery was an open access fishery until the mid-1990s,” Cousens said. “And in 2011, the Maine lobster fishery remains open, but with restrictions on access. The limited entry system was put in place with a firm recognition of the value system of the Maine lobster industry. This system recognizes the priority that we place on providing opportunities for our children and therefore allows students to obtain licenses if certain criteria are met. It further allows people who are willing to commit to learning the trade through the Apprentice Program to gain access to the fishery. But it also recognizes that allowing unlimited access could have negative consequences on the resource in the long-term, and undermines the ability of those currently in the industry to make a living in the short-term. The limited entry program ultimately dictates how small the pieces of the pie are sliced.”

Cousens said any attempt to revise the system must be careful not to activate latent effort – those licenses which have been issued but haven’t been actively fished.

He said any revision must also retain the fishery’s current economic model and avoid consolidation of licenses to just a few large businesses.

“Maine’s lobster industry is comprised of thousands of independent businesses with strong ties to their communities, and the profits are spread across the industry,” Cousens said. “This may not maximize economic efficiency, but it surely maximizes economic benefit to our coastal communities and our state.”

With that in mind, he said, the MLA considers the resolve to be too narrow in scope.

“We do not agree that an independent analysis should be conducted as a cost-benefit analysis,” he said.

Instead, he said, the MLA recommends that the scope of the study be expanded to include:

• A comprehensive review of the strengths and weaknesses of the current limited entry system, including a review of the literature on the topic, an examination of limited entry systems from other parts of the world, including Canada, and interviews with Maine lobster men from different regions of the coast.

• Provide recommendations for alternative management approaches to achieve the goals
of the limited entry system. “Recommendations must not only consider economic efficiency, but also the culture and value system of Maine’s lobster industry. Recommendations must be par ticularly sensitive to the vulnerability and unique circumstances of our rural communities,” Cousens said.

• Formation of an industry advisory panel to work with the Department of Marine Resources commissioner to develop a request of proposals to hire an independent contractor.

“Suggestions include working with a representative from the Lobster Advisory Council, Maine Lobstermen’s Association and Downeast Lobstermen’s Association,” Cousens said.

“I think it’s a good idea to look at it,” Cousens said. “We’ve said all along that, if anyone has a better idea, we’re open to it.”

The DMR’s acting deputy commissioner, Patrick Keliher, said his agency opposed the bill but supported its intent.

Keliher said the DMR, in conjunction with the industry, intends to conduct an independent analysis of the system over the course of the coming year. But, he said, the agency has not yet determined just what kind of analysis is needed.

“We don’t want to be limited to doing just a cost-benefit analysis,” Keliher said. “We think more analysis will be needed. Are there other regulatory components or social aspect components that need to be looked at?”

Keliher said the DMR’s commissioner, Norm Olson, intends to return to the Marine Resources Committee early in 2012 – at the beginning of the second half the current legislative session – with at least an interim report on the subject.