To the editor:
In the March 2005 issue of Working Waterfront, you published an article entitled “Trap Limits, Ten Years Later.” On page 24 of that issue, under the unfortunate and derisive heading of “Weekend Warriors”, Clive Farrin, Zone E Vice-Chair, expressed concern about the buildup of the “recreational” (non-commercial) lobster effort. He reports that “right now there are 2,200 or 2,300 recreational licenses…and based on recent historical increases we could see as many as 20,000 by 2007.” As one of those license holders I must correct those figures and put the real figures in perspective. The Department of Marine Resources Licensing Division provided me with accurate non-commercial license information for each year from 1997 (the start of the program) through 2004. The license numbers are as follows for each year; 467; 726; 945; 1,420; 1,972; 2,137; 2,033 and 1,952.
Elsewhere in the article, the commercial effort is described as 3.1 million tags issued, perhaps two-thirds of those tags actually being fished (2.1 million) and at full build-out, the potential for 4.8 million traps in the water. In 2004, there were 1,952 non-commercial licenses issued. Assuming the limit of all five traps for each non-commercial license holder were fished in 2004, that equates to 9,760 traps in the water, 0.3 percent of the 3.1 million tags issued or 0.46 percent of the 2.l million traps in the water. This is less than one-half of one percent, in either case.
Clive Farren says he “did the math” to come up with a potential for 20,000 non-commercial traps in the water by 2007. I assume that either he or Working Waterfront slipped a decimal point in their reporting. Since 2001, the number of non-commercial licenses has been mostly stable or more recently, declining. Statistical examination of the recent trends in non-commercial license numbers, provides a 2007 forecast of somewhere between 1,950 and 2,850 licenses — a far cry from 20,000.
The use of the term “recreational” license holder trivializes the importance of this subsistence fishery to those who pursue it. It is not a sport. Non-commercial license holders are Maine residents. One of the many joys of living in the State of Maine is being able to harvest food from nature to feed one’s family; be it hunting, fishing, gathering or lobstering. This is a way of life, intrinsic to Maine, that should not be threatened by commercial interests. In my experience, the non-commercial license might better be defined as a subsistence license for Maine residents.
It is clear that the non-commercial lobster harvest is a very minor component of the total effort and catch. The attempt to bring non-commercial lobstering into the debate over trap limits and overcrowding brings to mind the State of California in the late 1980s. In an effort to address their ever-growing smog problem, they debated a ban on gas-powered lawn mowers and liquid charcoal lighter. Meanwhile, they failed to address the 31 million cars a day on the highway. It is a well-known strategy — deflect the issue from the real subject and constrain those with- out political power. Non-commercial licenses are less than one-half of one percent of the effort — a small amount to share for a traditional way of life that feeds Maine families.
Jon Lewis
Boothbay