August 14, 2024 — A second delay to implementing minimum gauge and vent sizes for lobsters caught in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Outer Cape Cod was initiated last week by the American Lobster Board, which operates under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a measure that Maine lobstermen — and Congressman Jared Golden — have hoped and pushed for.
The new implementation date would be July 1, 2025, if the measure is approved by the ASMFC’s American Lobster Board.
An earlier delay the ASMFC approved had pushed back to Jan. 1, 2025, the new gauge and escape vent sizes in lobster traps for commercial lobster fisheries in the targeted lobster management areas. When the measure was first approved, it was to take effect based on a “trigger” mechanism.
The trigger is based on survey data showing a decrease of lobster recruits, that is, young lobsters. But many lobstermen fishing in the Gulf of Maine said what they observed on the water was different than the survey data reported. And, the first trigger was reached just months after the mechanism was approved, which led to the first implementation delay.