November 2012 Vol 2012 No11november 20, Gear Was Confi Andset
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LOBSTERMEN’SMAINE ASSOCIATION Better Informed, Better Decisions November 2012 Vol 20, No 11 Re-opening closed areas raises Off shore landings increase questions, possibilities By Melissa Waterman domly selected based on zone and license By Meredith Mendelson, type. Carl Wilson, state lobster biologist, DMR rom stories heard at wharfs along and Heidi Bray, marine resource scien- Fthe coast, it will be another ban- tist, have compiled data gathered from ord spread fast that the ner year for lobster landings in Maine. 2008 to 2011 to understand more about WNew England Fishery Man- Whether the fi nal tally will be greater where the lobsters landed in Maine are agement Council is considering than the 104 million pounds landed in coming from. options to reopen the groundfi sh 2011 is still unclear but it’s obvious to “Actually, a ten percent sample size closed areas as a mitigation mea- lobstermen that there are a lot of lob- is smaller than what the Atlantic States sure for the draconian cuts in sters on the bottom. And many of those Marine Fisheries Commission wanted,” catch limits facing the groundfi sh lobsters are in federal waters, from three Wilson explained. “According to the industry next May. While many to twelve miles from shore. ASMFC, it should be 30 percent.” With groundfi shermen are supportive Data compiled by the Maine Depart- just four years of data, Wilson cautions of this approach, other fi shermen ment of Marine Resources (DMR) indi- that any conclusions must be taken with and stakeholders have expressed cate that offshore landings have taken a “a grain of salt.” New Hampshire, Mas- concerns about these openings, sharp turn upward during the past four sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut citing the importance of the areas years. DMR passed a regulation in 2007 and New York all have 100 percent of for protection of habitat, spawn- that requires 10 percent of all licensed lobstermen reporting trip level catch ing stocks, marine mammals and lobstermen to report trip level catch and and effort information. the potential for increased gear effort information. Harvesters are ran- To Wilson, the fact that more Maine confl icts. Continued on page 19 Continued on page 11 Orion Seafood International TASTE THE Proud Sponsor of the MLA! 20 Ladd St, Third Floor ORION Portsmouth, NH 03801 ORION DIFFERENCE! (603) 433-2220 www.orionseafood.com Farewell to Heather, MLA Whale Projects PRST STD Coordinator Permit No. 65 Permit No. By Melissa Waterman Maine Community College in South U.S. Postage Paid Postage U.S. Portland. There she had worked Brunswick, ME 04011 he MLA bids farewell this with Professor Jim Manning build- Tmonth to a staff member. ing ocean drifters to better under- Heather Tetreault, 32, has spent stand currents in the Gulf of Maine. many a long hour in her car travel- Jim Manning and MLA executive ing along the coast of Maine as the director Patrice McCarron were col- Maine Lobstermen’s Association laborating on the fl edgling eMolt Whale Projects Coordinator. program, attaching temperature and She began her position in Janu- salinity recording probes to lobster ary, 2010, with funding support from traps. “Jim recommended me to Pa- the Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch trice so I worked on a three month Reduction and later, the Maine and contract [on eMolt data] that sum- Woods Hole Sea Grant programs. mer. It was a perfect segue to going off to the University of Maine at Heather worked with lobstermen throughout Since then she has been the key staff Maine to identify and describe the ways lobster Orono,” Heather recalled. person for the MLA responsible for gear was confi gured and set. collecting fi shing industry data to Heather completed her B.S. at Photo by Hanna Wheeler. UMO in marine sciences with a help mitigate whale entanglements and cultivation. “I had a lot of inter- double major, in physical oceanog- in lobster gear and conducting out- ests and got to explore them there,” raphy and marine geology. She also reach with lobstermen. Heather explained. “It was a really worked at the university’s aquacul- Heather fi rst came to the MLA fun time in my life.” in 2003, as a student from Southern ture center on tropical fi sh breeding Continued on page 11 INSIDE New Recruit New Processor in Rockland Marketing proposal explained Maine Lobstermen’s Association Maine Lobstermen’s #1 Ave. 21 Western ME Kennebunk, 04043 page 5 page 8 page 20 2 MAINE LOBSTERMEN’S ASSOCIATION November 2012 Maine Lobstermen’s Association Steaming Ahead Advocating for responsible re- n October, I had the pleasure of representing Maine lobster Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property sources management Iat a conference which included product groups such as the Rights (TRIPS). Geographical Indications are best known in the and prosperity for Idaho Potato Commission, Napa Valley Vitners, the Champagne European Union (EU) which has a history of local, specialized Maine’sM commercial Bureau, Missouri Grown Pecan Growers, Ginseng Board of agriculture closely linked to products known for their place of lobstermen. Wisconsin and others. origin, such as Roquefort cheese, Cognac or Champagne. SinceS 1954 The conference was organized by a new group known as The U.S. does not recognize GI’s and instead stands by its the American Origin Products Association (AOPA). This group trademark system. The primary difference is that the responsi- hopes to build a united voice for producers of geographically- bility and expense of protecting abuses of trademarks lies with based products and create a national system to recognize and their owners, whereas GI’s are protected by government. In the Board of Directors protect these products. The MLA has become a founding mem- case of Certifi ed Maine Lobster, the Maine Lobster Promotion ber. Council would be responsible for taking offenders to court, ••• I can’t tell you how many calls I have gotten over the years which would be extremely expensive. : David Cousens President from lobstermen and others who have been frustrated by the The EU and many other countries around the world fi ercely So. Th omaston, 207.594.7518 false advertising of Maine lobster. In some cases it has been a protect their GI’s because they understand that consumers are : Jim Dow 1st VP tank with oversized lobsters or tiny lobster tails being served willing to pay more for these premium products, which translates Bass Harbor, 207.288.9846 as “Maine lobster,” neither of which can be legally harvested into economic development, usually in rural areas. They under- : Brian McLain 2nd VP in Maine. Some diners have been served “Maine lobster” and stand that allowing companies to pass off generic products un- New Harbor, 207.677.3377 : Arnold Gamage, Jr. noticed those lobsters sporting “Canadian wild-caught” or “Mas- der a GI name equates to stealing intellectual property, mislead- Sec/Treasurer sachusetts whale-safe” claw bands. ing customers and diluting the value of the product. The EU So. Bristol, 207.644.8110 Maine lobster should only refer to lobster harvested in Maine Web site states “[protection of GI’s] requires intense and costly – so why is that so diffi cult? Like many brands with a strong per- legal efforts that small rural communities can rarely afford. This Bob Baines, Spruce Head, 596.0177 ceived value, others want to copy us. Substituting a knock-off as is why GIs need an enhanced protection.” Shane Carter, Bar Harbor, 288.0236 the real thing unfortunately has become commonplace. And this Napa Valley wines has eliminated problems of impostor Dwight Carver, Beals, 497.2895 practice dilutes the brand and erodes its premium value. wines bearing its label in Europe by being recognized as a GI Gerry Cushman, Port Clyde, 372.6429 It takes a lot to build and protect a brand. When I started by the European Union, the fi rst U.S. producer group to do so. Jim Henderson, Camp Ellis, 468.4363 with MLA back in 2000, the term “Maine lobster” was still con- Interestingly, the GI program manager for the EU told me how Robert Ingalls, Bucks Harbor, 255.3418 sidered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) an accept- much he loved Maine lobster and wondered why we weren’t Mark Jones, Boothbay, 633.6054 able name for any lobster from the species Homarus americanus working to protect our brand in the EU. Jason Joyce, Swan’s Island, 526.4109 whether it was harvested in New Jersey, Canada or Maine. Due Through the AOPA conference, I learned that other pro- Jack Merrill, Islesford, 244.4187 to efforts of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council, this is no ducer groups are way ahead of us. The Idaho Potato Commis- Tad Miller, Matinicus, 372.6941 longer the case. Unfortunately, many businesses still advertise sion has rules in place requiring all Idaho-grown potatoes to be Mike Myrick, Cushing, 354.6077 “Maine lobster” when they sell lobster from other areas. The labeled with certifi cation marks indicating that they were grown Brad Parady, Kittery, 337.3141 FDA, citing food safety as its primary concern, does not dedicate in Idaho. Napa Valley wine producers have strict labeling require- Kristan Porter, Cutler, 259.3306 any resources to enforcement. ments for those who use the Napa Valley brand. Both of these Lawrence R. Pye, Small Point, 389.9131 In April of 2007, the Maine Lobster Promotion Council did brands invest signifi cantly in quality standards and brand protec- Willis Spear, Yarmouth, 846.9279 take steps to protect the Maine lobster name by registering “Cer- tion. And it pays. Napa Valley wine accounts for only four per- Jay Smith, Nobleboro, 563.5208 tifi ed Maine Lobster” with the U.S.