January 3, 2019 — The annual fishing closure that forces a halt of the lobstering industry each winter is still a month away, but lobstermen are already pulling their traps out of the water and preparing for a long three months of trying to make ends meet.
For the past four years, federal regulations have forced lobstermen out of the water from Feb. 1 to April 30, an attempt to lessen the number of North Atlantic right whales that die due to fishing gear entanglements. Not only can the fishermen not be in the water, but they also have to pull all of their traps from the ocean floor before Feb. 1 – as many as 800 per commercial license.
“Most people have at least three-fourths of their traps on land by now,” John Haviland, president of the South Shore Lobster Fishermen’s Association, said Tuesday. “It takes multiple boat trips to bring them home, and this is the time of year the weather is starting to fall apart, so you just can’t predict when you’re going to have the days to do that.”
Those who aren’t able to get their traps out by the deadline face massive fines from the National Marine Fisheries Service, and it takes another two to four weeks to get all the traps back into the water once the ban is lifted.
“With that $10,000 fine looming over your head, there’s just no choice,” Haviland said. “It doesn’t make sense to not fish at full capacity every day you can, but it also doesn’t make business sense to risk that fine.”