May 2015 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11. Commercial Fishing News D.E.L.A. From the Director From the Director –
The snowbirds are returning from their southern winter refuge and fi nding that there is still snow on the ground! Welcome home everyone. We have a feeling that the warm weather season in Maine this year is going to be a short one. We had so many meetings cancelled over the winter that they are coming “at us”all at once! With the Maine Legislature going at the same time, it has been a very busy month. D.E.L.A. fi nally was able to hold a meeting at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum which was a good working meeting. We also have another meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 14th
at Jasper’s Restaurant
in Ellsworth at 6:00 p.m. Please remember, all are welcome to attend the meeting. We order from the menu but you can come for just the meeting if you’d like. Membership is open enrollment at all times, also. We are always welcoming new members! Please remember, we have established openings for the younger generation also. The more
Maine Department of Marine Resources Offi ces to Relocate
The Maine Department of Marine Re- sources will be relocating its headquarters on April 17, 2015 from Beech Street in Hallowell to its new location at 32 Blossom Lane in Augusta.
The department, including the licensing
offi ce, will be closed for the move on April 17 and will re-open on Tuesday, April 21. The new location, in the Marquardt Building of the former Augusta Mental Health Institute campus, is adjacent to offi ces occupied by the Department of En- vironmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. “The new facility will provide im- proved access for our license holders, suffi - cient space for public hearings, and a better work environment for staff,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commis- sioner Patrick Keliher. “It will also bring staff based in the cap- itol area together under one roof, improving intra-agency coordination.” The department’s Licensing Division will be located on the fi rst fl oor, along with staff from the Division of Sea-Run Fisheries and the Marine Patrol. The fi rst fl oor will also include conference room space for DMR public hearings. The second fl oor will house the Com-
missioner’s offi ce and Bureau of Policy and Management, as well as additional confer- ence room space and offi ces for DMR staff from satellite offi ces who periodically work in the main offi ce.
DMR will be sharing the space with the natural resources service center. Phone numbers and mailing addresses for DMR staff, Marine Patrol and Licensing
involvement that we have with our Junior members, the better prepared they will be when they are fully involved with the marine industry. How many of us have sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, even nieces and nephews that can come along to the meeting with you? Let’s get them involved so they have a better understanding of our traditional way that things are done. We know that a lot of young people graduate high school or college and then leave the state only to return at some point and then do not have their lobster license. We want them to understand the entire concept before they have regrets about their future.
This goes in line with the results of a couple of the bills that were brought forward at the Legislative Marine Resource Committee. These bills were all concerning lobster licensing, whether it was for veterans returning from duty or circumstances such as was just described which was about licensing for our younger generation that
Maine DMR News Division will remain the same.
Public entrance for all DMR visitors is at the north end of the building. Parking for visitors and staff will be located at both the north end of the building and in a lot located northeast of the building off Blossom Lane. The fi rst day of operations in the new location will be Tuesday, April 21, 2015.
Swans Island Man Has Commercial Fishing Licenses Permanently Revoked after Nearly Two Decades of Violations Lucas Lemoine, the 33-year-old scallop
fi sherman from Swans Island charged earlier this year with multiple violations of marine resources laws, has had all of his commercial fi shing licenses permanently revoked as a result of a history of violations that goes back almost two decades. This is the fi rst time a commercial fi sh- ing license has been permanently revoked by the Commissioner of Department of Marine Resources who was granted the authority in law last year.
In March, Lemoine was charged with multiple violations of marine resources laws after an investigation in the pre-dawn hours Monday by Marine Patrol Offi cers Jeff Tur- cotte and Brent Chasse and Specialist Sean Dow.
Lemoine was charged with violating the law that prohibits dragging for scallops in an area with an underwater cable, dragging for scallops in a closed area, dragging for scallops at night, possession of undersized scallops, and operating without navigation lights.
“The decision to permanently revoke Lamoine’s commercial licenses was not
Continued on Page 22.
let their licenses go and then want to come home and go lobstering once again. The result was a request to bring the lobster licensing back to the industry for discussion through meetings with the Commissioner; Pat Keliher and the Department of Marine Resources. D.E.L.A. testifi ed at the hearings and put this request in. It is time that we re-look at the licensing and what is best for our resource and people on the long waiting lists. Please, if you are involved with one of these situations, we encourage you to attend the meetings and let us know how you feel. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard!
The Department of Marine Resources will notify everyone about the scheduling of the meetings and locations.
Speaking of meetings, the “industry” which consisted of the major lobster associations and the D.M.R. held a meeting at Hallowell to go over the amendments for the fi nal Whale Rule and Critical Habitat comments.
This meeting went very well with everyone carefully going over every consideration that would make this situation livable for everyone. The D.M.R. composed a letter with the Lobster Associations signing on a letter that was in agreement with the D.M.R.
The overall consensus
of this was: “Divided we stand, United we fall.” So the letters were edited to everyone’s approval and sent today, April 20, 2015 with full agreement. This is very reassuring for all of us at this point in time.
This meeting was not an easy task for the D.M.R. due to the fact that they were in the process of moving from Hallowell to a new offi ce. We actually attended the last offi cial meeting that was held in the Hallowell offi ce…season of change or time marches on…as does everything eventually. The new D.M.R. offi ce is located at 32 Blossom Lane in Augusta. The new location, in the Marquardt Building of the former Augusta Mental Health Institute campus, is adjacent to offi ces occupied by
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the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Public entrance for all D.M.R. visitors is at the north end of the building. Parking for visitors and staff will be located at both the north end of the building and in a lot located northeast of the building off Blossom Lane. You may want to take note of these directions for the next time that you attend a meeting at the D.M.R. With another meeting in mind at the D.M.R., the next Lobster Advisory Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 4 p.m. at the new offi ce. Please take note of this if you are planning to attend the meeting. With all of this news of meetings, I will end for now and hope to see you at some of these meetings! We want to take care of as much as we can before the season really gets going and then everyone will be on the water – “Gone Fishing!”
See you around and be safe, Sheila
Rockland, Maine • 207-596-7060
info@jboatworks.com •
jboatworks.com
Saving the Gill-Netter PHYLLIS A.
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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