The better to draw attention to issues affecting Maine’s $244 million lobster industry, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association has decided to become a little more proactive in reporting trends and policy that affect the fishery.
MLA, the largest commercial fishing advocacy group in the state, since 1992 has printed a monthly newsletter for its members that has included reports from its officers and other information about its activities. The group has decided to change the newsletter’s format so it includes the association’s own, more in-depth coverage of issues affecting the industry.
And it is printing more of them. This month, MLA printed 6,000 issues of the revamped newsletter in a newsprint tabloid format. Before that, when the newsletter was produced on letter-size stock, the association usually printed only 1,200 copies.
“It’s a big jump,” Hanna Wheeler, MLA’s communications coordinator, said Thursday. “We feel it’s important for everyone to be informed.”
The main reason for that jump, Wheeler said, is that the monthly newsletter will be mailed free of charge to every lobster license holder in the state, as well as to state legislators and staffers with the Maine Department of Marine Resources. According to DMR statistics, there are approximately 5,500 commercial lobstermen in Maine. Others with an interest in the lobster industry can get paid subscriptions to the newsletter, Wheeler said.
The cost of mailing out so many free copies is being covered by a different sponsor each month, according to Wheeler. She declined Thursday to disclose the cost figures. This month, a Falmouth-based insurance company is underwriting the newsletter production costs.
Wheeler, who started working for MLA in June, also will be writing stories for the expanded publication, as will other contributors and MLA staffers. She said that besides covering topical issues, the newsletter also will have letters to the editor and features on harbors, fishermen and other aspects of the industry.
Expansion of the newsletter has been something MLA has been considering for a while, according to the group. With so much happening to the industry in the past year — including spikes in fuel and bait costs, a steep drop in lobster prices and significant changes in regulations — now seemed like a good time.
“We feel it’s extremely important during these times for everyone to be educated and informed,” MLA President David Cousens said in a prepared statement. “Fishermen need to be aware of all the issues.”
Wheeler said the group has received good feedback so far on the new format.
“People are excited to see the professional layout,” she said. “In general, people have been positive.”
Patrice McCarron, MLA’s executive director, was more succinct in her description of reader reviews.
“People love it,” McCarron said.
The October issue of the newsletter can be viewed online at MLA’s Web site, www.mainelobstermen.org.
