Bill to close lobster fishing loophole debated in Augusta
2/9/09 | 14 comments

Bill to close lobster fishing loophole debated in Augusta


By Kevin Miller
BDN Staff

AUGUSTA, Maine — A long-running dispute among Down East lobstermen has spilled over into the State House, where leaders of Maine’s lobster community are lobbying to close what they say is a loophole allowing some to exploit the state’s strict catch rules.

But a Jonesport lobsterman at the center of the dispute said the bill is just the latest attempt by some of his neighbors to harass him and his family.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has written a bill to clarify the “owner-operator law” to state that a lobsterman may operate only a boat listed on his license. The clarification, which has the support of Maine’s three large lobstermen’s associations, is intended to prevent one person from fishing more than the 800 lobster traps allowed under state law by secretly “setting up” another person with a boat and traps.

The bill, LD 246, also toughens the penalties for taking undersized, oversized or egg-bearing lobsters or for purposely interfering with another fisherman’s traps. For instance, it raises the maximum fine for possessing an undetermined number of illegal lobster from $2,000 to $5,000.

“I think we need to do this because hard times are coming and we need to protect the resource,” said Port Clyde lobsterman Gerry Cushman.

But it’s the owner-operator provisions of the bill that garnered the most attention Monday in the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee.

Belfast lobsterman Mike Dassatt, who is also secretary-treasurer of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, said he knows several people who are skirting the state’s law and hauling many more than 800 traps. Dassatt said state records may show someone else as owning the boat and traps, but in reality it’s the same person.

As a result, those people are allowed to haul two times and sometimes three times as many traps in the state’s lobster zone system, which limits each lobsterman to 800 traps.

“The bottom line is you own the vessel, you operate the vessel,” Dassatt said.

The Maine Lobster Advisory Council, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association and the Southern Maine Lobstermen’s Association all endorsed the new owner-operator rules.

The changes are inspired, at least in part, by a long-running dispute involving William Smith of Jonesport and his 20-year-old daughter.

Smith, who is widely known by his nickname “Killer,” fishes with his daughter twice a week on a boat that is in her name tending her 800 traps. But Smith said his daughter is uncomfortable operating the sizable vessel for medical reasons, so he operates the boat while his daughter helps tend the traps.

The problem, according to other lobstermen, is that Smith owns his own boat and has 800 of his own traps. Critics accuse Smith of running the show on both boats and using his daughter as a way to double-dip into Maine’s limited-entry lobster zones.

Smith, in turn, accuses members of the Downeast Lobstermen’s Association and others of harassing him and his daughter for the past four or five years. Smith said Monday that the bill’s current language would force her to give up her primary source of income because she won’t operate the boat herself.

“Where are we going to sell $100,000 worth of boats and traps right now?” Smith asked.

Another lobsterman, Frank Thompson of Vinalhaven, admitted to using the apparent loophole. Thompson said he now fishes with two boats, which he said is more honest than some other lobstermen who he knows are collecting more than 800 traps from one boat.

There was also significant disagreement Monday over how much of a problem the owner-operator law was. While Thompson estimated that fewer than a dozen fishermen statewide would be affected by the law change, one Portland lobsterman said he knows eight or nine people in his own port who are exploiting the law.

The committee is expected to hold a work session on the bill on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

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Comments
14 comments on this item
On 2/10/09 at 12:20 AM, Jennifer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Smith accuses members of the Downeast lobstermen's Association and others of harassing him and his daughter for the past four or five years...

Hmmmm how long has his daughter been fishing? She is only 20 according to the article. She has been running a lobster boat since she was 15? Where did a 20 year old with a medical condition get the $100,000 to buy a boat and traps? He says "where are WE going to sell $100,000 worth of boats and traps right now?" How about where is SHE going to sell $100,000 worth of boat and traps! She can't hire someone to help her other than her father?

Sounds fishy to me...no pun intended!

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On 2/10/09 at 5:18 AM, bendover wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Why does it matter how many do it.Even if its just one it's easy enough to stop.It's not our problem how he gets rid of boat and gear.

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On 2/10/09 at 7:00 AM, sickntired wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

There are a good many people who make their living working as sternmen ( deckhand ) on other peoples boats that would love to run a boat for someone. Or have their own. But the lobster industry is a closed business. I know several guys who have tried to get through the aprentice program to get their own license and have been thwarted by the very captains they worked for. It is a closed industry. Unless your daddy or close relative is a lobsterman you have just about no chance of getting in. The lobstermen have lobbied for years under the guise of conservation to get to this point. And don't believe the whining you hear every time the price drops a little... they make a darn good living because they have tied up this natural resourse that should belong to all of us. But with the limited number of licences available and the aprentice program etc. only a select few can ever get into the business. I agree that licenses must be limited but there should be a lottery system where first time fishermen have a chance to get in not just people like the Smiths keeping it all in the family. Everyone should have an equel chance to make a living from our natural resources. Just try to fish anywhere on the coast of Maine if you are not from a fishing family and you will find out... your traps will be cut off... your boat sunk and late night threats of bodily harm will soon put you out of it.

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On 2/10/09 at 9:01 AM, Adelaide wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

sickntired - I can't help but think that you are a tad bit delusional - "And don't believe the whining you hear every time the price drops a little..." That statement makes me believe that you don't know quite as much as you think you do. Do you TRULY know the expense involved with going lobstering? The boat expense, engine repair, fuel costs (which are still higher than 5 years ago), bait cost (which have tripled in the last few years), gear expense, insurance.... the list goes on and on. The price of lobster can make or break you. Most fisherman can struggle through one bad year due to a poor dock price but no longer than that. It's not as lavish a living as you seem to think. We must not live in the same area because it's seems that anyone who wants a lobster license has one. Lobster is considered a luxery item, more lobstermen mean more product being caught and lower price to the lobstermen. The only way you win in that scenerio is if the world is in good financial shape and your catching huge amounts of lobster, which neither is true of today.

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On 2/10/09 at 10:38 AM, bendover wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Adelaide jealousy is such a poor trait.Maybe we could do an intervetion on sickntired.

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On 2/10/09 at 11:09 AM, Genethemainer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

In my zone, B, there are plenty of people who have gone through the program and gotten a license by apprenticing with unrelated fisherman and there are over 50 people on the waiting list. Most still work on boats and have been waiting for several years to get their license. There are some who do not want to hire an apprentice but the majority will hire anyone who can do the job and is dependable to show up everyday. sickntired wants these people who have worked hard for years in the business to be cast aside so he can quit his assistant janitors job @ McDonald's and have a shot at being his own boss. I know alot of guys who are choosing not to take a sternman simply because they can't afford it. Not every area is the same as far as catching lobsters and making $$, I have talked to some from other zones and they said they had their best year ever even with the lower prices and higher expenses but the area's I fished this year the catch was down and with the costs high I didn't even make half of what a part time asst. janitor makes in a year.

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On 2/10/09 at 11:12 AM, Bangorian wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'd like to think there are more important things to be done in Augusta than settling an argument between the hatfields and the mccoys.

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On 2/10/09 at 11:17 AM, Genethemainer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You can't do the job .... find a job you can do. If you worked @ 7-11 for minimum wage and were afraid of the customers do you think dear old Dad would do your job for you then?

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On 2/10/09 at 2:25 PM, milomaine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I wouldn't mind being a sternman. Anyone hiring? Also, can sternmen drive the boat or is the skipper the only one allowed at the helm? As for profits, if being a lobsterman or person is so expensive, how can anyone stay in business? I'm not being a smart-alleck, I'm genuinely interested. I can't understand how farmers stay in business. I see the two industries having parallel issues.

For the young lady who owns the boat, learn to drive the vessel. That way you don't have to listen to all the people that are down on you.

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On 2/10/09 at 3:40 PM, bobby56m wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I see nothing wrong with this gentelman owning 2 boats. Sounds to me like people are just jealous because he's bringing in double the amount of lobster. If he can afford to have 2 boats and still make a living, let the poor man make a living! I swear, people will argue about anything. This is how this guy makes a living. There's no way he can sell that 2nd boat right now. He should be allowed to keep it. I understand every lobsterman needs to make a living. How about instead of putting more restrictions on lobstermen, they work on stuff that really matters! People will always eat lobster, this industry will never go down. Stop putting restrictions on the poor fishermen trying to make a living, especially with the way the economy is. My heart goes out to all fishermen trying to make a living right now. You all keep up the good work!

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On 2/10/09 at 5:47 PM, bobsmith wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You guys be easy on Killer, he's got a bad ticker from chasing to much"tail"

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On 2/10/09 at 5:50 PM, Adelaide wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Milomaine - Most lobstermen have too much invested. I wouldn't want to be just starting out. Most fisherman work up to what they have - they start with a smaller boat, gear that leaves something to be desired and work their way up. As few as 5-6 years ago, diesel was $1 a gallon, a bushel of bait $12-15. Today, diesel was $2.20 a gallon, bait $38 a bushel, not to mention when the whale rope goes into effect many fisherman are looking at up to $15,000 to modify their gear. Higher expenses, lower boat price, being forced to comply with whale gear that the state KNOWS won't hold up in rocky bottom (which is what we have in our area) not to mention in all the years my husband has been fishing - NOT one whale sighting, (a few sunfish, a shark fin or two only), our wonderful commissioner LaPointe not wanting to cut his dept. so ALL licenses will be an additional 25% higher. The lobstermen don't stand a snowball's chance in hell anymore.

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On 2/10/09 at 5:53 PM, Adelaide wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

P.S. I don't know of any Captain that let the sternmen steer the boat. I don't have the foggiest if it is law or the lobstermen knowing how much they have invested to not be at the helm.

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On 2/10/09 at 8:24 PM, bigjohn wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Let people work. The big reason that there is a trap limit is jelousy. If people would just leave fisheries alone,let the strong survive and the weak fail, we would have no need for foolish crutch laws, such as trap limits and the like wich only help the people who are not driven enough to succeed. Another thing that needs to stop happening is calling the news complaining about low landings and such, that only serves to feed the needs of the DMR and legislature.

Hard working no nosense fishermen that make a good living, like Killer, are the type of fishermen that draw young new blood into fisheries, face it nobody wants to be joe welfare driving trucks not fit for the road, no college for his children and living in a shack.

So quit the jelousy and mind your own business, you just might find that you can do well too.

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