Lobster fishermen say a small change in legal sizes could disrupt the endangered industry

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Gerry Cushman has seen Maine’s iconic lobster industry survive many threats in the three decades it’s been on the water, but the latest challenge — which might sound small — could be the biggest so far.

Lobster fishing is a game of inches, and the number of inches is about to change. Fisheries regulators are instituting a new rule requiring lobster fishermen to meet stricter minimum sizes for the crustaceans they harvest.

The impending change might be just 1/16th of an inch, or 1.6 millimeters, but it will make a huge difference to fishermen when the fishery is already facing major threats from climate change and new rules designed to protect whales, they said numerous lobster fishermen for The Associated. Presser.

However, interstate fisheries regulators say the change is necessary to preserve the future of the lobster population off New England as the species moves further north with warming waters.

In addition to causing a dispute between fishermen and regulators, the change has led to confusion about the ramifications for international trade in one of the world’s most popular seafood.

“We don’t need anything else, really, on our plate. There’s just a lot going on, one fight after another,” said Cushman, 55, a boat captain who fishes from Port Clyde. “We don’t need anything in the market to lower the price of lobsters.”

Fishermen are balking at new rules set to take effect next summer because they fear even such a small change could dramatically alter their ability to fish. They also say it would put them at a competitive disadvantage against Canada, which harvests the same species of lobster and has more relaxed rules. Some worry that the size change could saturate the lobster market for years to come.

But recent studies have shown a decline in juvenile lobster off Maine, and regulators at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission say that could portend a decline in catches.

“We’re seeing a decline in recruits, which will likely lead to a decline in adults later,” said Caitlin Starks, the commission’s senior fisheries management plan coordinator.

America’s lobster catch is already in decline—haulage from Maine, which harvests most of the U.S. lobster, fell from a high of 132.6 million pounds in 2016 to 93.7 million last year.

The minimum size change applies to the Gulf of Maine, a stretch of ocean off New England that is one of the world’s most important lobster fisheries. Under the commission’s rules, the legal harvest size for lobsters would change there if the bay’s stock of juvenile lobsters declined by 35 percent.

Officials said last year the stock fell by 39% compared to 2020-22 with 2016-18. This surprised both regulators and fishermen and led many fishermen to question the accuracy of the commission’s data.

However, regulators say the minimum size measurements fishermen use to measure lobsters will increase to 3 5/16 inches (8.4 centimeters) on July 1 and increase another 1/16 of an inch two years later.

Some environmentalists support the changes, which they believe will protect lobsters from depletion due to overfishing. That’s especially important “in the face of unprecedented climate change in the Gulf of Maine,” said Erica Fuller, ocean program attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation.

Scientists say the gulf is warming faster than most of the world’s oceans.

“The analysis shows that the proposed increase in gauge size will contribute to the long-term health and resilience of the lobster stock by increasing the biomass of the spawning stock,” Fuller said.

The changes do not apply to Canada, which has an even larger lobster fishing industry than the US. Some fisheries there already allow the capture of smaller lobsters than US rules allow.

Canadian authorities and trade groups are closely watching the US regulatory actions

This month, the Atlantic States Commission approved new rules to prevent the US from importing illegal lobsters from Canada. The Canadian government is “committed to working with the Canadian fishing industry to help ensure continued market access,” said Barre Campbell, a spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The inability to sell lobster in the U.S. could cause Canadians to rely more on other foreign markets, said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada. China is a major buyer from both countries.

“If we can no longer sell those percentages of lobsters of this size in the U.S., we have to find places to sell them,” Irvine said. “What does that mean for prices, what does that mean for harvesters?”

The changes will likely have a major impact on the lobster industry, but may not trickle down to American consumers, said John Sackton, a longtime seafood industry analyst. Prices this summer have fallen compared to recent years, according to trade data. Whether that continues depends in part on how big the catch is for the rest of the year, Sackton said.

Some scientists who study fisheries have advocated changing the minimum size. Richard Wahle, a retired professor of marine science at the University of Maine who has studied lobsters for decades, called it a “prudent” measure to protect the future of the fishery.

But the lobster industry sees a different story, said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobster Association, the oldest and largest fishing industry association on the East Coast.

The Association believes that action is not necessary at this time.

While recent lobster catches are down from the 2010s, the group argued in committee testimony that they remain much higher than in previous decades and that lobster also faces “extreme regulatory uncertainty due to future whale rules”.

Rep. Jared Golden, a Democratic congressman who represents coastal Maine, proposed an amendment in July to block the size changes.

“It’s clear that regulators need to work much more closely with fishermen to keep the industry sustainable and competitive,” Golden said.

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