May 14, 2024 –A Maine congressman and fishing groups are urging the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to delay the proposed increase to the minimum allowable catch size for Maine lobstermen. Concerns have been raised regarding the dire economic consequences this could have on harvesters and Maine’s economy.
Last May, the ASMFC Lobster Board passed Addendum 27, which would entail implementing a gauge increase from 3 ¼ inches to 3 5/16 inches in response to juvenile lobsters reaching a 35 percent decline. The increase was initiated in 2017 as a proactive measure to improve the resilience of the lobster stock in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank but was paused to prioritize work on the North Atlantic right whales. There was a seven-month delay in implementing the gauge, which will now be enforced on Jan. 1, 2025.
In a letter addressed to Robert Beal, the executive director of ASMFC, Rep. Jared Golden shared that he is “deeply concerned about the implications a gauge increase next year- absent robust economic and scientific analyses- will have on the viability of Maine’s lobster industry and the communities it supports.”
Fishermen, Rep. Golden, and lobster dealers are concerned that the data used by ASMFC to arrive at the 35 percent trigger index was “overly precautionary” and may not accurately reflect the current status of the stock.