Results of the Department of Marine Resources lobster effort questionnaire reveal that lobster fishermen are concerned about the state of the industry and where it's going.
The survey was compiled at the request of the DMR's Lobster Advisory Council. It was sent to the state's 6,832 license holders. More than a third responded, for a return of 2,381 surveys.
"Fishermen thought that something should be done about effort. We've been talking about this for quite some time," said the DMR's Sarah Cotnoir. The results will be discussed by the LAC this week, and then will go to the zones for discussion. For Zone B, that meeting will be on Aug. 12, 6 p.m., at Mount Desert Elementary School in Northeast Harbor. Zone C holds their meeting on Aug. 14 at the Deer Isle/Stonington school. Zone A's meeting will be on Aug. 26, 6 p.m., at Washington Academy in Machias.
Overall, opinion was split on the status of the resource, with 43 percent saying the resource is decreasing and 49 percent who consider it stable. External to the gist of the survey, folks were polled about their ability in the future to fish the resource, given new rope regulations and further restrictions expected in the future, as well as the price and availability of bait. Seventy-eight percent said they were very
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The results of the DMR Lobster effort survey, which was done in March, were released July 15. The data from 35% of Maine lobstermen, shows a common concern for the condition of the resource, a willingness to reduce traps by about 25%, and that the whale issue is considered a serious threat. The data will be presented at zone council meetings in August. The results are likely to effect whatever changes are made. Chessie Johnson photo |
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