CBFA Update

2006 Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association Update

The Fishermen's Association has dealt with several issues since the Fisheries Forum last year: the scallop meat count, changes to the federal herring management plan, and a lobster/urchin gear conflict.

At our meetings we've heard presentations on herring, results of the scallop market study, and plans for a marketing co-op.

We've discussed lobster gear/whale take reduction, bay management, the Downeast Groundfish Initiative, and contributed to a Hurricane Katrina relief fund for fishing communities on the Gulf of Mexico.

We elected officers and board members at our annual meeting and nominated a local fisherman to the DMR Advisory Council.

And, of course, we've had to deal with LNG.

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At meetings in early 2005 a number of fishermen raised the issue of the scallop meat count for Cobscook Bay being out of sync with the 4 inch shell size law. While the 35 meats per pint count appeared reasonably in tune with the 4-inch measure when it was established, that seemed to be no longer the case. At the 2005 Cobscook Fisheries Forum many Cobscook fishermen reported shucking legal size 4-inch scallops and still exceeding the meat count. Fishermen also noted that the 35 meats/pint count was developed using a 'random sample' method to select the meats for counting, but that Marine Patrol now uses the 'smallest meats' method of selecting meats to count.

To get a better look at what was going on, a scallop survey was conducted. It found the count to be between 42 to 43 meats per pint chosen by smallest meats and between 37 to 40 meats per pint using random samples. The survey demonstrated that the two methods of selection result in a significant difference in the number of meats per pint.

After seeing the results of the scallop meat count sampling, Association members voted to formally request that the DMR change the scallop meat count for Cobscook Bay from the present count of 35 meats per pint to a count of 45 meats per pint. Commissioner George Lapointe responded in a letter to the Association that he had 'decided to retain the 35 meat count for scallops in Cobscook Bay'.

David Turner, from Engelhard, and Dana Rice, who is a member of the New England Fisheries Management Council, advised the Association on proposed changes to federal herring management rules and their impact on Cobscook and Downeast fishermen. The fishery is dominated by the big mid-water trawlers.

Amendment 1 to the plan would bring limited entry to the fishery. David and Dana told us that the few herring fishing vessels left in Eastern Maine could lose their access to the fishery, depending on which proposed options are added to Amendment 1.

The large trawlers fish 24 hours a day in the full water column. The option known as Alternative #7 is the only alternative which would prohibit them from fishing in the area known as 1A from June 1 - Sept. 30 of each fishing year.

The Association sent a letter to the New England Fisheries Management Council that supports Alternative #7 as the preferred alternative for Herring Amendment 1. We also agreed with the recommendations of the Maine Lobstermen's Association to ban paired midwater trawlers year-round in Area 1A.

Association members testified at a public hearing on herring rule changes October 14 at the Perry Elementary School.

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Some Cobscook lobstermen lost traps because of urchin dragging in October and November. This conflict has been particularly heated in the Lubec Narrows, where the lobster run was late and the urchin fleet was concentrated for several weeks. Both draggers and lobstermen agreed that's it's only a few draggers who are knowingly damaging lobster gear. We discussed this issue with Marine Patrol Lt. Alan Talbot and approved a letter to Commissioner Lapointe asking that he consider this gear conflict when he establishes the urchin season dates for next year.

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Association members discussed access points around the bay that might be at risk of being lost. Some of the locations are:

• Globe Cove in Lubec, used by 25-28 boats for mooring,
• Horse Landing Road in Perry, traditionally used as access to Lewis Cove,
• Several points off the North Lubec Road, near Coopers Ledge,
• Loring Cove, Perry, where the access road to the shore has been chained off.

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We held annual elections in May, adding Leo Murray as Vice-Chair, Harry Shain, Jr. as Secretary, and keeping Tom Pottle on as Treasurer. Butch Harris, Scott Emery, and David Turner agreed to serve on the board of directors.

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David Turner has represented the area on the DMR Advisory Council. He can't serve another term. The Association has nominated Butch Harris for the position, which requires appointment by the Governor, with approval by the Legislature.

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We've spent a lot of time on the LNG issue.

We've held meetings with representatives of all three LNG companies.

We met with representatives of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Quoddy Bay LLC on February 17, 2005.

We devoted one Association meeting last March at the Boat School to LNG---Impacts On Fishing. We heard from Brian Smith of Quoddy Bay LLC, and from representatives from Fishing Families For Harpswell, the Campobello Fishermen's Association and the Fundy North Fishermen's Association.

On July 28 we organized a meeting at the Robbinston Fire Station between Downeast LNG and fishermen from the area who might be directly affected by the Robbinston facility.

In October, we heard from Ian Emery, from BP Consulting LLC, about his plans for a facility at Devil's Head in Calais.

Notes from all these meetings are available online on the Fishermen's Association page at www.cobscook.org

LNG is as divisive an issue for the Cobscook Bay Fishermen's Association as it is for the larger community. We've already lost members from the Association who are divided over this issue. We've struggled with whether the Association should support any one of the three plans over any of the others, whether we should support any LNG proposal at all, or whether we should oppose every LNG proposal. To those who want us to support a specific proposal, we have to say, "We don't know enough about how this is actually going to work to choose one proposal over another." Until we know the actual security plans to be implemented by the Coast Guard, we don't know how any of these plans will affect our ability to move freely on the water.

The purpose of the Association is the conservation, enhancement, and sustainable use of the marine resources of Cobscook Bay. If we fail in our efforts to achieve this purpose, the communities around the Bay will be very different places to live, not just for fishermen's families, but for all of us.

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