John Hathaway, a member of Gov. John Baldacci’s task force examining the economic sustainability of the lobster fishing industry, explains the process of becoming certified as a sustainable fishery to Zone B lobstermen at a meeting on Nov. 6 at the Mount Desert Island High School.—JEFF WALLS PHOTO

President of Bar Harbor Banking and Trust, Joe Murphy, spoke as a representative of one of the major lenders to the fishing industry with $25 million invested. He reinforced that the fishermen should stay in touch with their bankers and keep them apprised of their financial situation.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) spokesperson Herb Thomas briefly addressed the crowd regarding the role of the federally agency. The SBA does not loan directly to the customer but guarantees to the loaning institution that the loan will be repaid.

The same thing applies to the Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC) according to EMDC loan officer Jay Fortier. Mr. Fortier said that the fishermen should talk to their lenders regardless of what they hear from other fishermen because each loan is handled on a case-by-case basis.

Betty Egner from the Small Business Development Center offered the center’s help on a variety of fronts including financial projections, cash flow, and other business counseling.

Bill Osborn from Gov. John Baldacci’s office said that the governor has appointed a task force on the economic sustainability of the lobster-fishing industry. One aspect they are working on is the promotional side of the industry attempting to boost sales. Another area that the governor’s office is looking at is establishing in-state processing facilities. Two sites were mentioned as expressing interest, Milbridge and Rockland. Currently, the majority of Maine lobster is shipped to Canada for processing.

Representing Sen. Olympia Snowe’s office, Andrew Varisco reiterated what the financial institution representative said in that they should be proactive with their lenders. He said that the banks don’t want their boats, houses or trucks. They want them out fishing. The senator’s office is working with the SBA to locate the best options for setting up a processing plant.

Loan officer from The First, Jon Nicholson, said that the fishermen should speak with them not only because they are in financial difficulty, but because many of them are friends as part of a small, close knit community and the bank has a personal investment as a community member as well as a financial investment.

Getting in touch with lenders before things get out of control was the message from Machias Savings Bank branch manager Matt Horton. He reflected that all of the points the other lenders brought up were good points and that communication was crucial.

Fisherman John Stanley noted that part of the difficulty was partially due to the fact that fisheries are so regulated now that the fisheries that lobstermen used to depend on in lean times, like scalloping, groundfishing and herring fishing, are no longer open as alternative sources of income.

Another financial issue brought up by lobstermen is the impending groundline replacement due to the Atlantic Whale Take Reduction Program. Some of the offshore fishermen are going to have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to replace their floating line, and a buyback program is running out of funds. Mr. Small said that FAME is working to get money injected into the buyback program and that they are ensuring low-interest loans for fishermen to pay for replacement line.

Another financial hit on the fishermen will continue after the line is replaced, some fishermen say, because early experiences with the sinking line show that it degrades much more quickly than floating line due to abrasion against the rocky bottom. Gear lost because of parting lines and getting fetched up on the bottom will add to the fishermen’s financial burden, they said.

Part of the governor’s task force’s job is to determine the feasibility of becoming certified as a sustainable fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an independent nonprofit organization that promotes responsible fishing practices. MSC is as an independent, global organization based in London whose role is to recognize well managed fisheries and gain consumer preference for products bearing the MSC label.

John Hathaway, president and owner of Shucks Maine Lobster of Richmond and representative from the governor’s task force, spoke about the pre-assessment that the MSC has conducted. The pre-assessment results favored moving forward with the full assessment. Mr. Hathaway said that in the near future, larger nationwide chains such as Wal-Mart and many European markets will not accept lobster that is not certified by the MSC.

“It will actually be detrimental to not play by the rules.”
— jon carter

The hope in gaining certification is to expand the market and outreach of the industry. One unknown is the cost of certification and managing the program. Mr. Hathaway said that the cost will not be passed on to the taxpayers or the lobstermen – a statement that was met with some skepticism by area lobstermen.

Another factor causing some consternation amongst lobstermen was that the certification most likely means that 100 percent mandatory reporting would be enacted. That means much more work for lobstermen and state employees; neither of which have the time or the money for such an endeavor.

Next on the agenda was the possibility of the trap tag replacement process. The new procedure entails filling out an affidavit that fishermen can obtain from Department of Marine Resource officers in the field. The licensee will then have to send the affidavit to the licensing department in Hallowell with payment for the number of replacement tags being requested. Currently, tags can be purchased directly from Marine Patrol officers. The fishermen’s concern is the time delay involved with sending paperwork and payment through the mail and the lack of efficiency of the state government in an expedient reply.

A lobster trap tag freeze was discussed briefly as a way to reduce effort on the fishery. There was confusion on the issue as to how it would be managed. The general consensus of the lobstermen was that it would force people to buy as many tags as possible before the freeze was implemented and would actually increase effort instead of decrease it. The issue was left to stew until the next meeting, which has not yet been listed.

The council issued a letter to George Lapointe, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, several meetings ago that requested that penalties for violating current fishing laws be made stricter. The feeling was that current penalties are not significant enough to prevent people from breaking the law. The existing penalties have been in place since 1954, according to Jon Carter, chairman of the Zone B Lobster Council. With the new penalties that are about to be enacted by the legislation, “It will actually be detrimental to not play by the rules,” said Mr. Carter.