When Maine set out to limit lobster traps in the mid-1990s, it imposed a cap on the number of traps an individual fisherman could set. But it didn’t freeze overall effort at a particular level, and as local zone councils set limits the result was more, not fewer, traps in the water. As we report in this issue, fishermen who had traditionally fished 300 to 350 traps ramped up to 600 or 800 — on the “use it or lose it” theory, or in response to the empty territory left by the few fishermen who had to cut back on their effort. Recreational fishermen added their traps as well.
We’ve seen an eight percent reduction in the number of lobster licenses since 1997, but statewide we’ve also experienced a 21 percent in the number of tags sold. According to the Department of Marine Resources, two-thirds of the tags sold translate into actual traps in the water. Two-thirds of a 21 percent increase is still a big jump in eight years.
Whatever the reasons for the buildup, it has made a mockery of Maine’s attempt to reduce lobster fishing effort through a trap limit. Remember: the goal in 1997 was to reduce effort to 30 percent below that year’s levels. Some will contend that this failure doesn’t matter because landings have been strong by historic standards. But when the inevitable decline comes, it will come back to haunt us.
