AUGUSTA, Maine — It may soon be against the law in Maine to bait lobster traps with almost anything that’s not part of a lobster’s natural diet.
The Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee unanimously endorsed the bill. It is expected to be approved by the House and Senate.
Col. Joseph Fessenden of the Maine Marine Patrol tells the Kennebec Journal a herring shortage has intensified the search for new baits. One alternative is freshwater Asian carp, but that carries disease officials do not want in Maine waters.
The law would bar freshwater species from being used as bait unless proven safe and approved by the Department of Marine Fisheries.
Maine already has laws against baiting traps with most land animal parts.
Maine’s lobster industry uses about 100,000 metric tons of bait per year.
One very interesting theory about why lobster harvests continue to rise and populations seem to thrive in our heavily fished water is that all the baited traps are actually feeding/farming the lobsters.
If you’ve ever been out to a lobstering area where the traps are so thick that you could almost walk across them, you would probably start to think this is a reasonable theory. It is very plausible that not all of the bait is consumed by harvested lobsters and small lobsters that are thrown back and nearby lobsters benefit from a free feeding. It’s more or less a feeding station for lobsters.
I think it is prudent given that we understand the impacts of baiting to assure that the baits we use are safe and sustainable, which is what this law aims to do. At the same time, the DMF better have a good and quick way of testing and approving non natural baits for their safety,or this will impact many peoples’ livelihood.
One frustrating thing for me is that fishermen and DMF always seem to be at odds over fishing quotas, regulations, laws. Both fishermen and DMF seem to be at odds, and legislation is more about push and pull, give and take than what is actually best for the fisheries. They are both on the same side, and they should be working together to devise a plan that is sustainable and also provides for the fishermen.
Lobsters have to get physically into the trap to get to the bait. However those lobsters certainly can be over or undersized. They can be notched females as well. Those do get thrown back.
It also appears to me that for the most part Males and Females are being harvested in equal numbers. It would be nice to hear from a lobsterman or someone in the industry in regards to if they think the same as I do.Maine has done a great job of conservation in regards to the lobster industry. That is something that Long Island Sound Fishermen never did. It is something that Canada has just started to do recently. Massachusetts doesnt do a great job at conservation either.
What do we do when the Hearing are gone?
Is the Maine lobsterman worth the devastation of Hearing out of the food chain?
Is a luxery food for humans worth taking the life source of other species?
is it worth letting offshore boats that dont come into US ports to land thier herring from maine waters?lobstermen had better be ready one down year and you all will be working 3 day weeks like the shripmers. The whole herring issue is just another excuse to stop hard working people from doing what they love to do. STOP THE FORIGEN VESSEL FROM FISHING MAINE WATERS ITS EASY TO FIGURE OUT,YOU LET THEM IN
Govs2big…Herring are being caught in large quanties from large commercial midwater/seiners…….lobsterman and bait do not put a dent in the species
This has been an issue for a long time. The herring migrate. Somewhere off the cape large herring boats are setting up in a line and netting most of what is trying to swim up into the Gulf of Maine. That herring cant be sold fast enough and some of it is being frozen. From what I hear lobster are not big fans of herring that have been frozen.
Cape Cod I mean.
Several years ago salmon racks were being used as bait. The racks were a leftover product from Farmed Salmon being fabricated for market. Word was that the lobster took the salmon racks as bait. However it became illegal to use the racks. It was thought that the farm raised salmon racks might be consumed by Wild Atlantic Salmon and a new breed of mutant salmon would be created.
right you are ken,right you are!!!
My name isnt ken. Do you agree with what I was saying about salmon racks?
right you are ken !!!!
Somebody explain to me why this is “emergency legislation”…
Salmon racks contain antibiotics and certain types of medication alonf with artificial coloring all in the feed supplied to the fish, that is why it isn’t allowed for lobster bait. We in the lobster industry are one pathagen, one microbe, or one parasite away from disaster. Anytime that you have a single species so consentrated it is very dangerous. I beleive that the state is making a good move in this emergency legislation, but has to move quickly in checking out these baits. Lobster bait is far too expensive!
What about alewifes? Those can be used for bait cant they?
They are alewives are river herring.
I didnt realize alewifes and herring were the same thing.
Alwives are a type of herring