January 2016 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11. D.E.L.A. Director's Report From the Director – Here we are winding down another


season! The inshore boats are coming up and the stray lobster traps are showing up at the dock. Mike and I have found traps on the dock that are from two years ago that have been retrieved from a sink hole, covered with growth and barnacles, but with a good cleaning, will be good for another season. Thank you to the guys that are bringing in these stray traps! It is better to have them on the dock than on the bottom of the bay, still catching. We are in the midst of the Christmas Season right now, with hustling and bustling and lots of good cheer. Even though there is a lot going on in the world right now, people have been very good about “paying it forward.” I have heard stories about good Samaritans paying for the person’s groceries in front of them instead of the mother having to put things back on the shelf because she didn’t have enough money to pay for everything. We have also seen a lot of food donated at the food pantries this Christmas Season.


The Soup Kitchen in Belfast is looking for a bigger location and feeding many people through the course of each


week day. This shows that there are a lot of willing people to volunteer their time for such an important cause. It also shows that there are a growing number of people that are in need of such services in our communities. We want to wish each and every one a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.


The meetings are “stepping up” right


now. In one day, I had a Fishermen’s Forum Board meeting and went from that to the Lobster Advisory Council Meeting. All of the Zone Councils are also meeting at this time. We have been receiving follow-ups from the Commissioner’s Lobster Community Meetings, Science up-dates with Kathleen Reardon, Double tagging updates, Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative update, Whale Rule and Licensing updates. These are all subjects that we will be looking at as the next legislature is approaching. If you can get to your local Zone meeting, it is very informative for you and will keep you up to date with how our industry is doing these days.


All of the talk as of most recent is about Climate Change. There are a lot of varying opinions as to whether this is really


happening or not. In many ways, you can draw your own conclusions. It has been stated that warming waters are affecting our fi sheries and the location of certain stocks is a big concern. It is believed that the lobsters are migrating to the north due to the water being cooler toward the Gulf of Maine. There is also a little more shell disease each year. The Maine shrimp season has been offi cially closed for another year, also. There are also certain areas that have been closed to scalloping.


The Friends of Penobscot Bay are also checking the amount of mussels that are growing or “not growing” in certain areas of Penobscot Bay. Some areas are completely “clean” of mussel growth with only the mussels that have grown on some fl oats that have been left out over the winter from last year. All of these facts are certainly “food for thought.”


This leads me to that meeting that I attended last week in Thomaston.


meeting was hosted by Maine Sea Grant and the Island Institute.


This topic was


called “Don’t Just Catch It, Grow It Too!” The Aquaculture in Shared Waters project provide courses, fi eld trips, workshops, and reference materials and start-up support for fi shermen who want to learn more about starting a sea-farming business. Two hour classes run weekly for eight weeks beginning in later January or early February 2016. For more information: Dana Morse, 207.563.8186 or dana.morse@maine. edu seagrant.umaine.edu/aquaculture-in-


The


shared-waters. This course if offered free to participants!


I attended this meeting and found it to be very informative.


The situation


that has inspired the classes as such: The Maine Clam industry has been hit hard by predation; Shrimping has been closed for three years; Groundfi sh landings have been cut; licenses for other fi sheries are hard to come by. The aquaculture industry in the US and the world is growing, and the market for Maine seafood has never been stronger. We must look to the future and to our next generation if we are going to provide as fi shing families.


is Thursday, January 14th


Our next scheduled DELA Meeting at Jasper’s


Restaurant in Ellsworth at 6:00 p.m. Our guest will be announced on our website which is downeastlobstermen.org and our DELA Facebook site.


Please stay in


tuned with further notices for meetings and information. If the weather is bad, we still also post any changes in the meeting schedule. This time of the year, it is hard to plan due to Mother Nature.


Once again, if you have sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, nieces or nephews, please think about buying them a membership to DELA. It is a good way to get them involved while they are young and we are still “young” enough to continue to teach them! We have a membership form on our


website. Hope to hear from you soon! Take care and Happy New Year, Sheila


The fi shing vessel ELEANOR KATHYRN at her mooring Downeast.


JOHANSON BOATWORKS Full Service Yacht Yard


P. O. Box 88 Belfast, Maine 04915 – dassatt711@yahoo.com Month: September – 2015 - 2016 – “Working together”


Name: _____________________________________ Address: _________________________________ Town/city: __________________ Zip: ________


Phone number:___________________E-mail address___________________ Type of membership:


( ) Lobsterman/stern man ($100) yearly


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


2015 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD


( ) Lobsterman – age 70 & over ($50) ( ) Student ($56) yearly ( ) Business associate ($113) yearly ( ) Avid supporter ($132) yearly ( ) Friend of DELA ($100)


( ) I wish to support DELA’s legal fund _____________


( ) I wish to support DELA’s Scholarship Fund____________ We also take Master Card and Visa


Card _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _- _ _ _ _- _ _ _ _ Expiration date _ _/_ _ Security code _ _ _


Over 800 photographs from all 2015 lobster boat races except Portland. $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.


Card holder’s name (print) _______________________________________________ Card Holder’s signature___________________________________________________


*Downeast Lobstermen’s Association is a qualified tax exempt organization under section 501 ( c ) (6) of the Internal Revenue Code


License no. ___________


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