May 29, 2018 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Department of Marine Resources proposal to change the way some lobstermen fish in a large swath of water around Mount Desert Rock drew vocal opposition at a meeting in Ellsworth May 22 despite a unanimous vote in the Zone B Lobster Management Council.
At issue is a proposal to limit the number of traps that can be linked together in a single “trawl” in an area of about 300 square miles. The roughly rectangular area in waters that are part of Lobster Management Zone B stretches about 10 miles seawards from a line drawn six miles off the coast that extends roughly between Schoodic Point in the east and the southern end of Marshall Island in the west.
Currently, many lobstermen fish 15-trap trawls in the area. DMR would limit the size of the trawls to five traps. Under current federal rules aimed at protecting large whales from entanglement with fishing gear, fishermen must fish at least five-trap trawls in the area except around Mount Desert Rock where “pairs,” two traps linked together, are allowed because of the rocky bottom.
The opposition to trawl limits illuminates some of the complex issues that affect the lobster fishery. Many of the concerns voiced about gear conflicts reflect the resentment on the part of many Zone B fishermen over the amount of gear set in zone waters by fishermen from other zones—particularly Zone C.
Read the full story at the Ellsworth American