Golden applauds withdrawal of proposed increase to minimum size requirements for Maine lobster catch

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released the following statement tonight in response to the state Department of Marine Resources (DMR) announcing its decision to withdraw a proposed rule to increase the minimum size requirements for lobster to be caught in Maine, and pledging that lobstermen will be consulted in any future conservation proposals for the fishery: 

“I have always said that Maine’s lobstermen are the best, most informed conservationists for this precious and storied fishery,” Golden said. “Lobstermen have been saying for months that the proposed gauge increase was not only a risk to their livelihoods and their communities, but an unnecessary overreaction to questionable stock data. I’m proud of them for going to the mat for their industry, and glad their voices have been heard and that DMR has pledged to give the lobstermen a seat at the table in determining what conservation efforts, if any, are needed to protect their fishery.”

At a hearing about proposed rulemaking tonight in Augusta, DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher announced his agency would withdraw the rule pending new stock survey data and include fishermen in data collection. He further pledged that Maine lobstermen will be included in crafting any future conservation strategies designed to protect stock levels in the Gulf of Maine.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

“Our members are very happy that the lobster gauge increase has been shelved, and grateful to Congressman Golden for his unwavering support for Maine lobstermen,” said  Virginia Olsen, lobsterman and director of the Maine Lobstering Union. 

“Maine lobstermen prevailed tonight as they pushed back against the increase to the minimum lobster gauge size in Lobster Management Area 1,” said Dustin Delano, a former lobsterman and chief operating officer of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association. “NEFSA is very thankful to Congressman Golden for his willingness to stand up with lobstermen against the proposed regulation.”

BACKGROUND:

Lobstermen use a gauge to measure each lobster’s carapace from eye socket to tail. Under current rules, those that are smaller than the minimum gauge size of 3.25 inches must be put back in the water so they can grow, protecting the lobster population for the future. 

Earlier this year, data from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) indicated lobster stock had declined by more than 35 percent in Lobster Management Area 1, the largest management area in the Maine fishery, triggering the need for new conservation measures. DMR proposed a gauge increase of one-sixteenth of one inch — two times larger than the last gauge increase 30 years ago. 

Maine fishermen have questioned the data used to justify these changes, including concerns that ASMFC stock data is out of date. In addition to questions about the reliability of the data, Golden and Maine fishermen have raised concerns about how an increased minimum size requirement would put Maine lobstermen at a competitive disadvantage with Canadian harvesters.

Golden is the only House member from the New England states to take up the lobstermen’s cause regarding the proposed gauge increase. Working with lobstermen, he sent severalletters to ASMFC urging the commission to block or delay the rule change, and drafted legislation in the last Congress to halt the increase pending newer, more reliable stock data.

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