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ELLSWORTH —
Governor John Baldacci has called for the
declaration of a state of emergency in the state’s
groundfishery in an effort to focus economic
relief efforts on the ailing industry.
At a May 5 news
conference on the fishery in Rockland, Baldacci
directed Marine Resources Commissioner George
Lapointe to declare an emergency and seek economic
relief for fishermen. In addition, Baldacci
pledged to work with Maine’s congressional
delegation to find sources of federal money to
help associated businesses and communities
affected by the new rules.
Farther Downeast
the frustration with the new rules has given rise
to a local effort focussed on rebuilding severely
depleted groundfish stocks and allowing a degree
of local control over the fishery.
At a meeting of
the Maine Lobstermen’s Association on Monday at
the Ellsworth Public Library, Stonington fisherman
and researcher Ted Ames, Gouldsboro fisherman and
New England Fisheries Management Council member
Dana Rice, and the Rev. Ted Hoskins explained the
preliminary efforts the ad hoc group of fishermen,
community leaders and researchers has made in the
face of Amendment 13.
Setting the scene,
Ames said there are but two full-time
groundfishermen fishing out of Maine ports east of
Vinalhaven, and they’re considering giving up.
“That leaves the
eastern half of the
U.S. share of Gulf of Maine without a resident
fisherman,” he said.
While there aren’t
any fish to speak of in the area now, presenters
agreed that their fear is when the stocks do
rebuild, there won’t be anyone from Downeast ports
who can go out and take advantage of them. Knowing
how much fishing capacity in southern New England
has been curtailed by the last cuts, the pressure
to grant access to any rebuilt stocks to them is
significant.
Pat White of the
Maine Lobstermen’s Association said of a recent
trip to New Bedford, Mass., “There’s enough
fishing power in that harbor right now to take
care of the Gulf of Maine.”
Rice said he
understands the needs of those groundfishermen
from the fleet of large vessels to the south.
“It isn’t just a
big boat, little boat thing,” he said. He
understands that they need a chance to go fishing
again, “but so do we,” he added.
Rice said the
question Maine fishermen have to ask themselves is
“do we do something to manage something that’s
ours and have a chance to go fishing again?”
To not try and
maintain access to the Gulf of
Maine fishery for Downeast
Maine fishermen flies in the
face of history and potentially throws away
millions of dollars for the future
Maine economy, Rice said.
Simply put: If
stocks rebuild and there are no licenses in
Downeast Maine, the fishermen harvesting fish off
the coast won’t land them in Downeast ports and
contribute to the Downeast economy. Groundfishing
boats and gear won’t be purchased and maintained
there, groundfish won’t be processed there and
groundfishermen won’t spend money there.
One management
option being studied would be to have a section of
the Gulf of Maine on the Downeast coast,
along with a quota of fish, designated for local
area management.
Rice warned that
any designated area would likely be closed to
fishing for a number of years to allow stocks to
rebuild. Then it could be opened to fishermen in
the region.
Ames characterized
the area management idea as similar to lobster
zones, but bigger.
“We have done
something very right,” he said of the lobster
management efforts.
However,
translating that to groundfish isn’t an easy task.
Lapointe said
Tuesday there is significant concern among the
active fishermen in Southern Maine who are
struggling to stay in the industry when the
Downeast group talks about options for re-entry to
the fishery.
Taking a long
view, he sees the two groups as victims of the
contraction of the industry over more than a
decade.
“Part of the
emergency is the cumulative impact on those parts
of the state that don’t have permits or access
anymore,” he said. He added that between now and
November, he will be chiefly concerned with how
Maine fishermen with active
permits are going to survive under the new rules.
But in the long view, he said, re-entry will be
important to Maine.
Lapointe said the
Downeast coastal effort discussed in Ellsworth
Monday is a good beginning with a lot of work
ahead of it.
“They’re not going
to give us anything unless we have a plan,” Rice
said of federal fisheries administrators who
oversee the groundfishery.
While the efforts
to come up with a Downeast plan are just getting
off the ground, the ad hoc group did receive a
sympathetic hearing from the Maine Lobstermen’s
Association.
“You’ve got to
have a door open for the young people when the
fish come back,” said Bar Harbor lobsterman Jon Carter, who lost his groundfish permits during the
contraction of the fishery.
Hoskins said the
nascent effort, though still gathering input, has
“a real direction and a real intent.”
He concluded with
a hope for broader application of the area
management effort, “if this can work, then there’s
a model that others can work with.” |
