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MAINE: Bill would set limits on types of lobster bait |
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A bill working its way toward the governor's desk to be signed into law
would require that any fish or other baits that are not a natural part
of a lobster's diet be approved before they're lowered into Maine
waters.
The Legislature's Marine Resources Committee unanimously endorsed the bill and it reached the House floor last week. It is expected to be approved by both the House and Senate. The search for new lobster baits has gone on for decades, but it intensified in recent years as shortages of herring, the bait of choice for lobsters and lobstermen, grew more acute. Lobster bait may seem like a lowly topic for the Legislature, but it's a big problem, considering Maine's $300-million-a-year lobster industry uses 100,000 metric tons of bait each year. Maine already has some laws against baiting traps with unwanted "stuff," such as the hides of deer, moose and other animals. The issue there was more a concern about public perception than any threat to lobsters, which tend to eat most anything. There is an exception for a hairless, rawhide type of bait. Read the complete story from The Portland Press Herald
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MELISSA WOOD, NATIONAL FISHERMEN: Meting out the meager
May 22, 2012 - Listening to the New England Council's Groundfish Advisory Panel talk about how that industry is going to pay for monitoring costs is kind of like trying to figure out how to pay your bills when you've just lost your job. Though monitoring is important keeping costs down is critical. As Panel Member Gary Libby pointed out, "If we had 100 percent monitoring we probably wouldn't have an industry."
