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DEPT. OF MARINE RESOURCES
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Maine Lobster Zone F Council Meeting Minutes March 30, 2005Lobster Zone F Council Meeting Present: Lyman Kennedy, Frank Strout, David Johnson, Elliott Thomas, Donald Ulrickson, Jason Hillman, Gary Anderson, Raymond Gilliam, James Doughty, Andrew Ulrickson, Jodie Jordan, Daniel Harriman, John Butler, Jim Merryman, John Harriman, Dave Laliberte, Sgt. Jon Cornish, MPO Scott Couture, Bill Doane, Ted Bear, Scott Kittredge, Paul Fischer, Brian Tarbox, Steve Train, Dan Train, Howard Gray, Tom Martin, Ron Lapointe, Dave Moody and Adam Ulrickson. Call to Order Lyman Kennedy called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the October meeting were approved as written. Maine Lobster Promotion Council Kristen Miller of the MPLC gave a presentation regarding the latest MPLC findings. Lobsters are not being sold as a “Maine Brand.” Fifteen years ago, essentially none of our excess lobsters went to Canada, and now 61% does. Canada is building a brand on lobster, and a lot of it is our product. The MPLC is looking for solutions to this. GoMOOS Tom Shyka gave a presentation on GoMOOS, and referred us to the GoMOOS web page for their available products. Reports and Updates Lobster Advisory Council Update: The update was provided by Frank Strout. The meeting was held on March 16, 2005. There was a 3 1/2 hour discussion on effort reduction that never produced any results. This discussion will be revisited during the next meeting. Leila Percy stated that the Marine Resources Committee has been leaning toward recreational issues, as commercial fishermen have not been attending their meetings. Recommendations for the license plate fund RFPs will be made tomorrow and notifications will be sent out in a week or so. The committee would like to get more funds released. DMR Update Terry Stockwell gave the update. Rulemaking: Zone G: 5-1 from 3-1 April meeting of DMR Advisory Council Terry Stockwell presented the LDs about to be considered by the Marine Resources Committee. The Council held a caucus to determine whether we would provide testimony for or against each LD. The results are as follows: LD 513 An Act To Amend the Hours for Lobster Fishing: against: unanimous Whale Update The DMR is supporting Alternative 5 with the following exceptions: the exemption zones should be expanded to those submitted by the State, and the SAMs should not be increased until the forage data are included. The DMR will be getting funding for further evaluation of neutrally buoyant line. The DMR is working with two environmental organizations to provide a poly rope buy-back program. Effort Reduction Material presented at the Fishermen’s Forum was distributed and discussed. The Council was asked to send comments to Frank Strout. The Commissioner is worried about the upcoming stock assessment, and wants to be working on effort reduction plans if the ASMFC comes back with restrictions. There was a brief discussion on Student Licenses. Exit Ratio Discussion A brief discussion was held concerning changing the Zone F exit ratio - do we want to go to 5:1? This discussion was tabled to the next meeting until the Legislature determines how grandfathering for current apprentices will be applied. Council Meeting Attendance The fact that Bill Allen has been absent for 5 meetings in a row was discussed was brought up for action. Although he responded to the letter sent by Terry Stockwell, he did not attend this meeting.. The bylaws state that ”A council member who misses 3 consecutive meetings without notifying an officer, other Council Member, or DMR of the intended absence from a meeting may be removed from the Council by majority vote of the Council.” A motion for his removal was made by Frank Strout and seconded by Elliott Thomas and others. The results were unanimous for removal. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m. |
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