Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS May 2013 D.E.L.A. - FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
for the natural run of the alewives. D.E.L.A. was asked by Jeff Pierce and the Alewife Harvester’s Association, as well as the Passamaquoddy Indian Tribe. Landis Hudson, the Executive Director Maine Rivers sent us a very good DVD that was put together and produced for the Passamaquoddy Tribe as an educational tool to help people understand the facts of the St. Croix River and the tradition that they are trying to preserve. The passing of this bill was a success. Jeff Pierce has accepted the seat of Executive Director for the newly organized Elver Association. With his experience with the Alewife Harvesters and knowledge of the Maine rivers, they asked for help with
From the Director – Let’s think spring and maybe it will warm up just a little! I will certainly be surprised if the lobsters have an early molt this year due to unseasonal warm weather. This just proves that you never know from one year to the next what the weather is going to be in the Northeast. We have had a busy legislative session this spring with good results so far. The St. Croix River is scheduled to open on May 1st
their most urgent situations that they have been dealing with this spring. They have a hearing at the Armory in Augusta on April 30 at 1:00 p.m. and need support at that also. We had our D.E.L.A. meeting on April
at Jasper’s Restaurant in Ellsworth with Marianne LaCroix as our guest. She updated us on the Maine Lobster Promotion Council and answered any questions that we have at this time. Thank you, Marianne. We discussed the latest bills that have been on the legislative schedule. This year, we have received a lot of calls asking us to help in Augusta. I have to ask myself if this means that perhaps people feel our voice does make a difference. I certainly hope so. We do “say what we mean and mean what we say.” We’re also always willing to help. We were pleased to vote Terry Savage,
11th
Sr. of Mount Desert Island to our Board of Directors. Thank you, Terry! Your help is much appreciated.
I would also like to welcome our
new member, Downeast Fishing Gear of Ellsworth to D.E.L.A. Welcome aboard! One of the major bills that we testifi ed at was LD 1097 – An Act to Allow the Sale of Incidentally Caught Lobsters. This bill was a lot like the previous bill that we testifi ed against fi ve years ago with the same representative (Ann Haskell) hosting the bill. They are looking for ways to save the Portland Fish Exchange and the ground fi shery. We are not against the Portland Fish Exchange or helping the ground fi sh industry. It is the simple fact that Maine stands alone with conservation laws for the lobster industry and want to protect it the best that we can. This has been protected for generations. If we really look at the big picture, the other states allow the landing of by-catch lobster and none of them have
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bounced back yet with their lobster industry. The stand that D.E.L.A. takes is the fact that they don’t support landing by-catch lobster, Period – regardless of where you are located geographically. This bill was tabled by Ann Haskell who felt that it wasn’t going to pass. She is looking for other possible solutions to help the ground fi shery. At this point in time, the bill that supports marketing is moving forward. The good news is that the support from the fishermen and the dealers is now 50/50. This makes the bills approval much more appealing to everyone involved and hopefully, we can move forward this year. It takes a little time to achieve results when we are all working on these matters of importance.
I would also like to say that the fi shermen that are running out and joining the union, please contact us at any time and ask what we have been doing. The associations put their news out in publications and do
Jasper’s Restaurant, Ellsworth 10 January 2013
our best to keep people informed. I can personally say that some have been asked to join D.E.L.A. and have by-passed the invitation. Some are previous members of associations and have not spoken with us to tell us what their problems or concerns are. We work very hard and devote a lot of time to representation. We know that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. It is a matter of choice. My biggest disappointment is the fact that funds from these union memberships will be leaving the state. Please take a lot into consideration before you make your decisions. There’s a big difference in the price of representation. This is all that we ask of you. We are all working lobstering families, boat builders, bait dealers, and marine yards and stores. We are proud to be “By the Fishermen, For the Fishermen.”
See ya around, Sheila
Minutes DELA Director's Meeting Attendance: President; Hilton Turner,
Vice President; Nick Lemieux, Secretary/ Treasurer; Mike Dassatt, Executive Direc- tor; Sheila Dassatt, Glenn Robbins, Jane Robbins, Terry Savage, Sr., Jessica B, Clay Savage, John Chipman, Sr., Gerry Chipman, John Chipman, Jr., Theresa Chipman, Allen Hamblen, Marty Hamblen, Bob Fortin, Norbert Lemieux, Jason Hillman
The meeting opened at 6:10 with Pres-
ident Hilton Turner presiding. Hilton intro- duced our guests, Glenn and Jane Robbins of the F/V WESTERN SEA.
The minutes were reviewed by the
Board of Directors with Norbert Lemieux making a motion to accept. The motion was seconded by John Chipman, Sr with the motion passing. The Treasurer’s report was reviewed and discussed by Sec/Treasurer Mike Dassatt, who answered any of the questions that were asked. We discussed suggestions from the board about raising funds to help support the association. The motion was made by Bob Fortin to accept the Treasurer’s report and seconded by John Chipman, Sr. The motion passed. Sheila presented her director’s report
to the board. Among some of the items that have been worked on are as follows: representing the fi shermen at the Belfast hearing concerning the re-location of fi sher- men’s moorings to accommodate the Front St. Shipyard. She was asked to represent the fi shermen by local D.E.L.A. members. She’s working on a new membership fl yer
that needs updating. Facebook and the internet communications has increased tre- mendously. We have started working with our credit card account for purchases and memberships. We are working with Jon Johansen to increase our articles and ads in the Maine Coastal News. She and Marty Hamblen of International Special Risks are also working on future promotions for D.E.L.A. We are attending meetings of the boards that we participate with also. The big focus at this time is getting ready for the Fishermen’s Forum. We have a lot of membership help this year.
Hilton invited Glenn Robbins to speak with us about his concerns with the herring issues. Glenn is very concerned about the lobstermen losing gear due to the placement of the traps and the location of some of the tows that are being made. If pair trawlers should tow through the gear, a fi sherman could lose over 200 traps.
This year the quota for herring is ex- pected to be 40,000 metric ton compared to last year’s 23,000 metric ton. This change should bring the bait price down for this coming season. If there is a way that we can work together to concentrate on seining instead of pair trawling, this can make a big difference with keeping down any possible confl icts in the future.
Seining is a little
harder but you have better fi sh. It may create more competition but a little competition can be good.
Norbert made a motion to help support efforts to work together to help promote
Continued on Page 20.
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