At first, Tenants Harbor fishermen resisted the idea of removing lobster traps from two fertile fishing grounds. But multiple meetings and a better understanding of the purpose of a trap density experiment led to what may be a revealing study, sponsors say.
And even if the study isn’t helpful, the process of getting fishermen together may pay off, as men and women talked about their work and the need for cooperation to protect both the resource and their livelihood.
The Tenants Harbor trap density experiment is a month-long collaborative project involving voluntary cooperation by fishermen with state marine officials and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service/Maine Sea Grant. “This experiment brought the harbor fishermen together to begin thinking as a group instead of as individuals,” said Sherman Hoyt of St. George, fisheries outreach coordinator.
Hoyt, a former lobsterman who works for the University of Maine through its Sea Grant program, said that with lobster prices bottoming out, this was a tough year to sell a trap-density scheme. But the experiment may help determine if overfishing an area ends up hurting fishermen and the lobster population.
Results of the study, which took place in August, won’t be available until later this fall. The biggest fear for Tenants Harbor lobsterman, Hoyt said, is that the study might somehow be used against them, cutting their already dwindling profit margin.
“It’s been an exceptionally difficult year. People in Tenants Harbor were saying, ‘We’ve got to do something different; we’re not making any money,'” Hoyt said. Even so, Hoyt and Maine Department of Marine Resources lobster biologist Carl Wilson initially faced hostility from fishermen when they proposed removing 50 percent of traps from two areas: Hart Ledges and the Southern Island bell buoy.
Wilson said some 15 lobstermen eventually agreed to participate in the study after accepting the offer of a financial incentive. Lobstermen were paid $2 per trap per day to move the traps to another area where they could continue to fish with them. At $28 per trap for the two-week period when the traps were removed, a lobsterman could make $2,800 for moving 100 traps.
Wilson said the study aimed at reducing gear in the two designated areas by 50 percent. Participating fishermen were asked to keep a log of their fishing activity and observations for the month of August, including number of traps set and number of pounds of lobsters caught.
Funds for the experiment came from a federal grant to the Department of Marine Resources, and Up East Foundation, a private Maine-based foundation.
Coordinating the study with Hoyt, of Spruce Head, are Wilson, lead lobster biologist based in West Boothbay Harbor, and Sarah Coitnoir, area manager for the Department of Marine Resources. Wilson was assisted by two sea samplers: Hanna Wheeler, communications coordinator for the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, and Gillian Garratt-Reed, marine programs officer for the Island Institute (which publishes Working Waterfront). Both she and Garratt-Reed live in St.George.
More meetings with fishermen to discuss trap density are anticipated. “I see this continuing into the future and I remain committed to it,” Hoyt said.
Steve Cartwright is a freelance writer who lives in Waldoboro.