March 2015 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11. Commercial Fishing News D.E.L.A. From the Director From the Director –
Mother Nature has had other plans, or so it seems, whenever we have had a D.E.L.A. meeting planned! We certainly apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. For the record, all of the meetings that have been planned, including the legislature, have been cancelled and re- scheduled at least once or twice. Due to all of the meeting cancellations this winter, we will hold a brief business meeting while we are at the Forum. I will set the time and place and have the information at our booth. Feel free to contact me at any time for further questions:
dassatt711@yahoo.com or 207 338-1406. So, there isn’t a whole lot of news, other than the fact that a lot has been getting accomplished with the help of the telephone, computers and I phones. Isn’t technology a wonderful helping hand?! On February 11th
I was able to get to
Augusta for the Introductions at the Marine Resource Committee. It was snowing that day, but with one cancellation already, it was decided to continue with the introductions anyway. I took the drive and made it up and back with just a little “fi sh tailing” along the way. The meeting went very well, receiving compliments from the Committee for the work that we do. After almost ten years of going to Augusta to introduce D.E.L.A. to meet the new Board, it was heart warming to receive the smiles and kind reception that was given to us. I met some new people in the industry, such as the new Worming Association and Seaweed representation. Each sector has special concerns that a lot of us are unaware of. There is a lot to learn about our Maine marine industry! It is worth going to this introduction for each of us just to learn the many uses of these products. Do you know the many uses that there is for seaweed? You would be surprised. Last week I was a guest on WERU representing D.E.L.A. along with the Friends of Penobscot Bay director, Ron Huber. The questions involved our concerns with Penobscot Bay, such as the dredging project, the clean up of GAC Chemical plant in Searsport and the possibility of a Bay
Keeper. Basically, a Bay Keeper has no legal jurisdiction such as the Marine Patrol, but they are there to follow-up with research and can also stay in close touch with the wardens. As I stated on the radio show, we have had calls from concerned visitors that have seen pesticides used along the shoreline. They stated that they did not want to see Maine have the same devastation that Long Island had when the lobsters started dying from pesticide use. A Bay Keeper can follow-up on these calls that concern pesticides or other chemicals that may hurt our environment. For the most part, when asked about any of the above topics, I stated that communication is the most important part of involvement. Whether people are “for or against” topics such as dredging, they need to know the facts as to “why” the subject was brought forward in the fi rst place. As it has been mentioned before, the shipping industry and the fi shermen in Penobscot Bay have had a mutual respect to try to stay out of each other’s space in order to conduct business as usual. There is a designated shipping channel as well as designated areas that the barges need to stay away from due to lobster gear that is placed there. This has been this way ever since I can remember. The big topic now is the 40th
Annual
Maine Fishermen’s Forum. We have been very busy this year with preparations for one of the best Forum’s ever. There will be lots of seafood there for the Thursday Night Seafood Reception. A lot of people don’t realize that the seafood for the Forum is provided by the fi shermen and dealers. It is not provided by the Samoset, although they so kindly prepare it for us. Each Board member is responsible for providing the seafood from the donations of our own seafood industry. It is the best seafood in the world, as far as I am concerned! I’d like to thank each and every fi sherman and dealer that so kindly donates their catch for this special occasion.
For those that do not know the details, the Maine Fishermen’s Forum is March 5th thru March 8th.
This is open FREE to the PUBLIC, so all are welcome. I have found
that a lot of folks are not aware of this and miss out on a great weekend. It was originally started as a “Cabin Fever Reliever” for the fi shermen and their families. About this time of the year, it is good to get out and see old friends and enjoy the events that are taking place. There will be old photos and videos shown for people that like maritime history. This will be hosted by Jon Johansen and presented by the Penobscot Marine Museum. A lot of seminars are informative and keep us up to date with our industry, such as the annual presentation by the new Maine Lobster Collaborative or former Maine Lobster Promotion Council. We, D.E.L.A. is hosting Jon’s seminar of old tyme photos, the E-molt seminar with Jim Manning and an Insurance Seminar with three insurance agencies and a surveyor
that will be very informative. If you have any insurance concerns or questions about your boat and equipment, please take in the Insurance Seminar. That is what they will be there for….to answer your questions. We are are happy and proud to represent each and every one of these seminars.
D.E.L.A. will also have a booth at the Forum which will have our Associate members helping us. They will have an opportunity to share their product with you as well. We will have International Special Risks and Tradesmen International also manning our booth. Please stop by and see what we have to offer! We always look forward to seeing our members, potential new members and lots of friends that we only see once a year. See you there! Sheila
WANTED
MARITIME BOOKS, MAGAZINES, DOCUMENTS POSTCARDS and PHOTOGRAPHS
International Maritime Library
P.O. Box 710, Winterport, Maine 04496 (207) 223-8846
JOHANSON BOATWORKS Full Service Yacht Yard
Rockland, Maine • 207-596-7060
info@jboatworks.com •
jboatworks.com
Saving the Gill-Netter PHYLLIS A. 2014 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD
Over 800 photographs from all 2014 lobster boat races. $12.50, which includes postage.
To order: Maine Coastal News, P.O. Box 710, Winterport, ME, 04496 or call (207) 223-8846 and charge to your credit card.
The Phyllis A. Marine Association - A non-profi t organization dedicated to the preservation of the former gill-netter PHYLLIS A., built at Kennebunkport in 1925, and worked by the Arnold family out of Gloucester for 75 years. To help call (978) 391-3901 or visit their website:
www.phyllis-a.org. All donations are tex deductible.
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