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DEPT. OF MARINE RESOURCES
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Maine Lobster Zone A Council Meeting Minutes, March 29, 2005Zone A Meeting
1. Welcome/Introduction 2. Approval of Minutes 3. Reports and Updates a. Lobster Advisory Council Update J. Drouin then summarized the Legislative Updates from the council. One bill took a lot of time concerned Special Education and Demonstration Licenses (specifically pertaining to lobster diving). There are 10 in the state. The issue with this bill is that someone might dive and take lobsters out of traps. There were also questions raised about people having this license and being able to use it to fish on Sunday, which commercial fishermen are not allowed to do. In another bill Zone C fishermen want to change the law regarding fishing ½ hours before sunrise and after sunset. An act to protect fishing families was put forward by gentlemen out of Biddeford Pool. Bill aims to allow the passing of a license down to a blood relative, and now includes a domestic partner or their sibling. There were some negative comments to this topic, especially zones in western part of state as a license could possibly never exit the system. None of councils have made comments on this proposal yet. MPO Faulkingham reported that the new 42’ patrol vessel to based in Jonesport is being worked on now. Beefing up hydraulics, should be ready in late May. Comments: Question posed regarding LR 627. T. Stockwell: grandfathering is of keen interest. This will be an option for each zone. Zone councils may have option to vote. LR 513 has been requested to move the restriction on hauling traps until sunrise on 31st Oct to the 1st of Oct. J. Drouin discussed the Lobster Sea Fund Money. This topic will be discussed by the Lobster Advisory Committee in late April. In past, Zone A has always allotted money towards the release program. We have the choice to put our money into buying females lobsters back or put it towards scientific research. Comment: The seed fund program was set up to do seeding of lobster. Comment: Great Wass Island has a lobster hatchery that is run by Brian Beal, maybe some people would be interested to go down and look over it. We could put money into this, it is a good facility. Last year they put the larvae in Eastern Bay using seed lobsters. J. Drouin: Would have to check to see if money can go to hatcheries. T. Stockwell: The seed money gets pooled for state-wide projects. It is a great facility though. J. Drouin: Cutler once had a good hatchery and Zone C has their own private venture. We need a plan to be submitted to the State to fund this. People running the hatchery are responsible for submitting a plan. T. Stockwell: submit a RFP into DMR. Comment: If money going to hatcheries, I would support. Comment: The Department doesn’t want seed funds to support hatcheries. Bar Harbor has been doing for years, on tourist dollars and can release at stage 4. Comments: If the money is going to a biologist, then I rather it goes to the lobsters. Brian knows how to get money. He wants to think about opening up to tours. Comment: In Great Wass, we don’t have tourist. We could get a lot of lobsters for $10,000. J. Drouin: So, does the money go to research or lobsters? J. Drouin: The seed fund doesn’t fund any hatcheries. Comment: I supported hatchery because it is local. T. Stockwell: adding a surcharge to your licenses will require a legislative change. Vote: All in favor of putting money into lobsters. b. DMR Updates c. District Representatives – reports from each district 4. New Business a. Proposed New Federal Whale Rules T. Stockwell: The Draft Environmental Impact Statement supports proposed new rules to amend the current Federal Take Reduction Plan. The goal continues to be the reduction of entanglement of large whales. Right whales are to be entangled at a rate of 0 a year. Comment: What about ship strikes? Comment: we are all rigged for whale safe gear already. Terry: The new proposal is for 2008 and may include marking of all surface buoys and toggles and end lines every 10 fathoms. There is a concept of exemption lines, Washington County didn’t do well in the proposal and we are pushing back that we want the 50 fathom contour line. As a state we would like to thank them for the concept but let them know we want them to reconsider, we need a good proposal. Just inside the 3 miles line, there have only been a few sightings. There is a lack of documentation and knowledge with foraging inshore and low profile lines. We are conducting low-profile groundline research attempting to make the line hover at lower depths. We distributed some line last year, and we have varying comments. It is a rope with enough floatation that it would just float up 4 or 5 feet from bottom. We used a ROV to document the rope underwater. It floated and guys got their gear back. The State wants to hire fishermen to help with gear research and we will have samples to try out in May. We can argue that in eastern Maine, there is no foraging on bottom. In Western Maine, whales are foraging and may be working all depths. We want to overlay sighting with fishing data and put forward to the agency. We need hard data. T. Stockwell: Some will never be satisfied although this state is usually ahead of the pack. There are many different fisheries coastwide noted in the DEIS. The prohibition on the floating lines is the big issue. 3 conservation members are willing to help fund a buy back program in Maine. We are in the Research and Development process right now and hopefully we can come up with something that is operationally useful and works for conservation. Comment: Will neutrally buoyant lines work everywhere? Comment: If fishing in area with no food for whales, then there is no need for the lines. The Right Whale is the poster child of whales. At some point they will get down to the level that they are extinct, and they will just switch to another whale. Comment: And still they haven’t helped one whale. T. Stockwell: We have disentangled a few right whales and overall there have been fewer entanglements. Comment: We can get away with a different type of rope. T. Stockwell: We are working on the lack of data, there is a known feeding area on Jeffery’s Ledge in and somehow they end up to breed in Bay of Fundy. One reported whale was right off the Samoset, one in Bar Harbor, and another near Bucksport mill. J. Drouin: I talked to some people and looked at the exemption lines and the reason down here is because the congregation is just on the other side of Grand Manan, so there is a very high potential for entanglement. Laura gave me some coils and I tried it and by the end of the season I was parting it up. The regular stuff always chaffs where the traps are because of the tide. Stuff they are trying to develop, I still don’t see it working. Noisy and chaffed up whole length of it by end of the season. We need to support Alternative 5 and show there are no whales. Last time we had a meeting, there good turn out, everyone kept saying we don’t want regulation and 600 lbs. doesn’t work. We lose gear, it works. It is not going away, we need to steer the process and have a unified stand and what the situation is down here in eastern Maine. We need an exemption on breakaways to 1100 lbs. We have a lot of tide around here. We will lose balloons and buoys. Not everyone uses the same gear, A1 vs. A2 balloon, breakaways will work. The meeting is coming up on April the 6th. It was left off of a NOAA notice last week. T. Stockwell: please get everyone to attend. b. New Legislation c. Proposed LNG Terminal Comment: Fishermen are up and arms because the bay is not big enough, no way to try and turn around. Depending on where the security zones are around the ships – you may not get out of harbor in places, and there will be extra traffic, tug boats, etc. J. Drouin: Harry said that even when sailing up thru, there is a mile moving safety zone around it. They have a shoot to kill order if in area, and then ask questions later. Cutler only has 7 miles anyways. No one knows exactly where they are coming from for approach or anything. J. Drouin: Then do we have a motion? The council has a negative feeling? Comment: I can tell you everyone in districtt 8 is against it. J. Drouin: The consensus from what I hear is negative. Comment: It would affect Canadian waters too; there are rumors that Campobello is against them going out around the island. J. Drouin: The town voted No and we are not in favor. 5. Old Business a. Continued Lobster Effort Discussion – Handout B 6. Open Discussion T. Stockwell: It is in the rule making process, public comments are still being taken. In May, the DMR Advisory Meeting will vote on what Zone A has for exit ratio. Comment: I don’t agree. T. Stockwell: That is the way that the APA law is set up. It’s a series of checks and balances. Commissioner makes a recommendation to the Advisory Council which has the final advice and consent. Comment: This Zone Council has no power. O. Look: The comment period still open. You should send comments in to Laurice at DMR. This is your only and last chance to have a say. 7. New Meeting Date Set Meeting Adjourned at 7:35 p.m |
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