Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS October 2012 Commercial Fishing News
From the Director – We had a successful Annual Meeting at Jasper’s Restaurant on September 13th
.
Sarah Cotnoir of the Department of Marine Resources was there to update us on all of the happenings of the lobster industry. She answered questions that we were concerned about and did a wonderful job.
One part of the solution to our problem with the industry is geographical. There are defi nitely areas that have many more lobsters than other regions. The solution has to be a fi t for everyone in order for it to work. The overall opinion is still the fact that the fi shermen are best stewards of our own fi shery. The Board feels that “The fi shery and nature will take care of itself.” Whatever we choose, D.E.L.A. wants a sunset date for the decisions that are made by the Lobster Advisory Council and the Legislature. This way, if things are not working in a positive manner, we can do away with it and work on a better solution. D.E.L.A. would like to “Thank” Clive Farrin for his nine years of dedication as President of the Board of Directors! Clive feels that it is time to “retire” from his position and spend a little more time with
FROM THE DIRECTOR OF DOWNEAST LOBSTERMAN ASSOC.
his family. It has been a pleasure working with Clive on the very important issues that we have faced over the past few years. It certainly hasn’t always been easy! (the issues, not working with Clive)! As a matter of fact, times have been quite challenging but he has always represented D.E.L.A. with loyalty to our commercial fi shermen toward preserving our heritage and independence. We didn’t let him off that easily, though… he was immediately placed on the Board of Directors. Thank you, Clive!
I’m sure that most of you know our newly elected President of D.E.L.A. Hilton Turner of Isle au Haut and Stonington. Hilton is also the Chairman of the Zone C Council, with a lot of experience working with a crowded room of fi shermen. He has also been a pleasure to work with and has promised to do the best that he can in his new position. We wish Hilton our best with the future and hope that you all get a chance to say “Hi” when you see him. If you have concerns or thoughts about the fi shery, please keep the communications open. D.E.L.A. welcomes John Chipman, Jr. of Birch Harbor to our Board of Directors. John’s father, John Sr. also had a seat on the Board of Directors. They are very dedicated to serving our fi shery and show it with involving their entire family at our functions. The wives and children and grandchildren of our members are very important to our success.
along the way!
Thank you to everyone for helping us Nick Lemieux is continuing with the
Vice President seat and Mike Dassatt is our Secretary/Treasurer. Thank you for continuing my seat as Executive Director. No one said it was going to be easy, but I couldn’t work with a better “bunch of
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people!” The licensing meetings are continuing
with Alexa Dayton of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. I have been working with them from the telephone conference system. With the scheduling that we’ve had
lately, this has been the best method for me. The meetings are going well. I have been sent the information and suggestions that have been put forward that concern the fairness of our licensing regulations. Some of the problems that are addressed are: to protect the future of the resource, reduce gear confl ict and sharing the resource equally. We also are working on increasing the value of the resource to fi shermen and our communities. How do we do all of these things and keep everyone equally happy? You still have time to contact us with your feelings on these subjects.
I have questions on various subjects that are “in the wind” at this time.
I have been asked how we feel about the LPG tankers that are coming into our Maine waters and docking in Searsport. How do you feel working with or around the tankers? John Hathaway and Togue Brawn are working with the zone council meetings to lock down the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) or “approved” seafood for our lobster industry. What do you think about that? Are we ready to take that step? The Gouldsboro processing plant has been sold in auction from Live Lobster to David Garbo of Garbo Lobster and Michael Tourkistas of East Coast Seafood. The media reported that they will be applying for funding and grants to take care of their improvements. What do you think about this one? Is this the improvement that people have been looking for? I am asking your opinion because I am asked these questions quite often and I want to represent the
fi shermen to the best of my ability. My e-mail is
dassatt711@yahoo.com if you’d like to weigh-in on my questions for the industry. As I have mentioned in my previous letters, as an association, we work hard to make sure that we represent our members and their opinions. One more thing, please encourage your young people to stay in touch and get involved. I look forward to hearing from them and working with them in the near future.
I would like to welcome our new members to D.E.L.A. – Atlantic Insurance & Benefi ts with Mike Giles of Belfast. Myra Haskell of North Haven is a new member along with her husband, David Haskell. Welcome aboard! We will be hearing more from Mike
Giles of Atlantic Insurance & Benefi ts with a benefi t offer for our membership. We will stay in touch with you about our D.E.L.A. Benefi ts. We are always working on better benefi ts for our members and their families. The planning for the 2013 Maine
Fishermen’s Forum is under way. If you have plans to have a seminar for the Forum, please let one of the Board of Directors know fairly soon.
I am on the Board, so please contact me if you have ideas for the seminars or the Decompression Chamber (talent and entertainment) during the Forum. The Lobster Institute Celebrated their
Anniversary with a special dinner and entertainment that was held at the University of Maine, Orono. Congratulations for your years of dedicated service to our lobster industry.
25th November 8th
Our next meeting is scheduled for at Jasper’s Restaurant in
Ellsworth at 6:00 p.m. Please come and join us!
See you there, Sheila
Lobster Boat Race Banquet At the Homeport Inn's
Mermaid Restaurant and Pub 121 East Main St., Searsport (207) 548-0084
27 October 2012
5 pm - Annual Meeting; 6 pm - Cocktail Hour; 7 pm - Dinner; Awards to follow Rooms available at Comfort Inn, Belfast (207) 338-2090 $65 per night
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