July 2014 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11.


D. E. L. A. REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR Commercial Fishing News


From the Director – Summer is offi cially here. June 21 was the longest day of the year and also the fi rst day of summer. Can you believe it?! I’m not quite sure what to make of it, so I’ll hope for the best for the rest of the season. Usually a person can predict how a season is going to go…..new shell, hard shell, wind and water temperatures. Now, it looks like it is the spin of the wheel and see where the arrow lands. As far as lobster price for this time of the


year, for up to 1-3/4 lb., $3.25; over 1-3/4, $$3.75. This depends on if there is a bonus agreement. Some pay a partial bonus, some wait until the end of the season and there are a few that don’t pay a bonus at all. It all depends on the dealer and where you chose to sell your product. With this knowledge for now, we have a pretty good idea that the Maine lobsters will be in abundance fairly soon, if not already in some areas. We already know that there was an over abundance in Canada, so we know that the price is about to get “shaky.” Now I know that we all need to get along with our neighbors and I have seen a lot of these friendly gatherings among the U. S. and our Canadian fellow fi shermen. This is not a bad thing, but we are also talking about promoting one’s own product. When we go to the table discussions, we are told over and over that one hand can not work without the other.


They need our lobsters for processing and we need their fi rmer shell lobsters for our live market, correct? I guess this makes


the Northeast the “fi nal frontier.” When you look at the problems that they have had in the lower Atlantic states with die-out and pollution problems, pesticides, etc., and the “warmer water” this moves everything upward, to “the dog’s neck.”


If you’re wondering where I’m going with this, here it is: Maine has been working very hard to establish MSC certifi cation, for those that want to participate. We have also taken a major step to protect our resource by closing the Penobscot River due to health concerns due to mercury contamination. We have made it loud and clear that this is an isolated location and because of our convictions to the well-being of our citizens and resource, our Maine leadership and industry decided that this was the right thing to do. DELA has been working very diligently to stand by our convictions and follow through with protecting our resource, whether it is lobster, crabs, fi sh, or marine vegetation. We need to do all of this to sustain our next generation. They need to be able to have the same advantages and choices that we have been able to make. I believe that we are all moving in the right direction and with everyone’s help and participation, this should all be better in the “long haul.”


The seasonal McLobster sandwiches are back this year. Food for thought; this is all Canadian Atlantic lobster from High Liner Food, Inc., Lunenburg, NS.


Red


Lobster was promoting lobster specials, also. We are not catching a lot yet, so where


ASMFC Schedules Second Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Workshop for August 12-15, 2014 in Beaufort, NC


ARLINGTON, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s second Atlantic Menhaden Stock


Assessment


Workshop will be conducted August 12 - 15, 2014 at the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Southeast Fisheries Science Cen- ter, General Auditorium, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, North Carolina. The as- sessment will evaluate the health of Atlan- tic menhaden and inform the management of this species. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discus- sions of confi dential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room. The Commission welcomes the sub- mission of alternative analyses and models for consideration in the Atlantic menhaden benchmark stock assessment. For alterna-


tive analyses and models to be considered, they must be sent in the required format, with accompanying description of meth- ods, to the Commission by July 14, 2014. For more information on requirements for submission and presentation of materials at the Assessment Workshop, please contact Dr. Genny Nesslage (gnesslage@asmfc. org), ASMFC Stock Assessment Scientist. The benchmark stock assessment will be peer reviewed through the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review process in December 2014 in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. For more information or details on attending the workshop, please contact Michael Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


is it coming from?


Our Maine Promotional Alliance has been very busy also. We have just had National Lobster Day with a very good presentation from Chairman, Frank Gotwals. I have been receiving notices for their “every meeting” which is open to the public. If you can’t attend their meeting, they also have a very good re-cap of the progress that they have made. We are all in the same “boat” and so far, so good. I just read that the Lobster Institute just had a lobster college. I saw Bob Bayer wearing a red cap and gown and holding a lobster buoy with his graduating class. This is another way to promote the lobster industry. Everyone is working hard to stay in the public eye and focus on a premium product.


Penobscot East Resource Center has been producing videos involving the fishermen that promote better handling practices. They have a fl are of comedy and I personally feel that we can take the advice from fi shermen, themselves. We certainly lead by example.


PERC shares the videos with the Associations also. If you look on our website, downeastlobstermen.org, you can take a look at the latest one. They are very good!


Let’s hope that the prices stay within a reasonable range this year.


If we all


work together, we may be able to sustain a comparable price that works for everyone. To update the issues, we have been


quite busy. DELA’s letter of comment to the Whale Rule was sent by the deadline date, which was June 16. We also have access to the offi cial Whale Rule if you have further questions. If you’d like a copy of our letter, please contact us and we will sent it through e-mail.


Please take a look at our DELA website!


Our daughter, Christy Perce has been working to give it a new look and a lot more


information. One of our projects is to list our Associate members and make it so you can connect with their websites if they have one listed. There is a blog page so you can ask questions, leave comments and please stay in touch with us so we know how you feel about things. Thank you, Christy for all of your work on this project! DELA also has a Facebook site. Please feel free to share your information, pictures and announcements that you want to post. This is a good way to share boat pictures, family and gatherings that are going on this summer.


Here is our summer listing: The Lobster Boat Races are about to begin along with the summer festivals. The full schedule for the boat races is posted in the Maine Coastal News.


This year,


the Fishermen’s Family Fun Day which is hosted by the Island Fishermen’s Wives Association is celebrating its 25th event will be held on July 20th


year! This , 2014 on the


Stonington Fish Pier. Belfast Harborfest is another big event that includes Maine boat builders and the Boat Building Challenge. This event is scheduled for Saturday August 16th


from 9 – 4 at the Belfast Waterfront. If you would like to participate in this event, please contact me at dassatt711@yahoo. com. and I will follow-up with you. This is just a sample of the gatherings that are going on this summer! We will try to keep the events posted on our DELA website for everyone to see.


be Thursday, July 10th Fishermen’s Friend in Stonington.


Our next scheduled meeting will – 6:00 p.m. at Sarah


Cotnoir of the Maine Department of Marine Resources will be there to give us an update and answer any questions that you may have. Please try to attend if you can and bring along a friend. All are welcome! See you there, Sheila


JOHANSON BOATWORKS Full Service Yacht Yard


Rockland, Maine • 207-596-7060 info@jboatworks.com • jboatworks.com


Melvin Shute's SEA MIST. She is a Northern Bay 36 powered with a 430-hp Volvo.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32