March 2016 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11. D.E.L.A. Director's Report From the Director –


In my last report, I was talking about winter just beginning. We have been very fortunate this year when I look back at all of the snow that we had last winter! I know that it isn’t good for everyone, economically, but it has taken the hardship out of getting through the cold months. February is a shorter month, but it has been a very busy month for our marine industry. Today was the fi nal workshop on the


LD 1503 An Act to Create a Class II Limited Lobster and Crab Fishing License and Improve the Limited-entry System,(This was the original title) This has been a long, hard working process. D.E.L.A. started the process by inviting Rep. Walter Kumiega to our January meeting to go over the bill, which he sponsored. We discussed each section, shared our concerns and made suggestions to take to the hearing for the Marine Resource Committee as a guide for when we turn our testimony in. Obviously, it


was time to look at the long overdue situation and offer realistic solutions that are fair for everyone.


The day of the hearing, there was a


large crowd and an overfl ow room. After a long day, I fi nally made it to the main hearing room and was able to give our testimony at almost 5:00 p.m. It was backed up with testimonies of associations that were adamantly opposed to the bill. Remember the ole’ “Do nothing” shirts that came out a few years ago at the Lobster Advisory Council meeting?


That was pretty much how this was going, also.


This particular Committee worked hard to try to represent everyone that was concerned with the bill and make it “fair” for everyone. D.E.L.A. testifi ed “neither for nor against” so we could offer the suggestions for amendments to this particular bill. If we testifi ed “for or against,” it is possible that it would be “killed” right out of the hole with no options for offering corrective


NOAA Reports Progress in Finding Bycatch Solutions


amendments. This licensing system has


proved the “the test of time” and needed to be improved since it was introduced twenty years ago. We even turned in a letter of suggestions that we wrote fi ve years ago, in November, 2011 for the Lobster Advisory Council. This tells you how long we have been working on this issue.


There is one thing that I would like to explain to our students; I heard concern that “they” (the representatives) wanted to put the students on a waiting list, on Facebook. Please, there are statements that are used fi guratively and literally.


When people


hear these statements that may be used as examples, people go home, get on social media and turn it upside-down.


I strongly recommend that you stay in touch with your association, who was in attendance, following the statements and can answer any confusion before it gets blown out of the water. I am referring to the statement that there was a lot of argument concerning “more effort.” It was said that none of these folks were concerned with the extra effort when students enter the fi shery but have a fi t if an apprentice from the waiting list comes in. What is the difference as far as effort is concerned? We embrace our students and want to continue our family tradition. We care. If you consider a scenario that a student gets called away, fi gures “Mom” is sending your lobster license in and it gets overlooked……it doesn’t get sent in and you don’t have your lobster license for that year…guess what? This would put


NOAA released the Bycatch Reduc- tion Engineering Report to Congress de- tailing the agency’s progress in preventing and reducing bycatch through research on technology innovation and fi shing practice solutions.


Bycatch occurs when fi shermen - both recreational and commercial—discard unintentionally caught fi sh, or when a gear interaction harms or kills marine resources like marine mammals, seabirds, corals, sponges, sea turtles or protected fi sh. Reduc- ing bycatch is a key part of NOAA’s efforts to maintain sustainable fi sheries and conserve and recover protected species. ”While U.S. fi sheries management is a world model of success generally, we still need to make progress on bycatch—a complex, global issue that threatens the sustainability and resiliency of our fi shing communities, economies, and ocean ecosys- tems,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fi sheries. “We work side- by-side with fi shermen on their boats to develop solutions to top bycatch challenges facing our nation’s fi sheries. While we’ve made great progress, there is more to do.” Projects realized through NOAA grants highlighted in the 2014 Report to Congress


include: Use of real-time maps to identify butterfi sh hotspots, reducing butterfi sh by- catch in the Northeast longfi n squid fi shery by 54 percent in two years; Use of artifi cial illumination in the West Coast ocean shrimp trawl fi shery, reducing bycatch of protected eulachon by up to 91 percent; and Use of a modifi ed gillnet that reduced sturgeon inter- actions by more than 60 percent in Virginia and North Carolina.


Under the Magnuson Stevens Act,


NOAA and its partners have nearly 40 years of experience in fi nding innovative solutions to bycatch in the United States and internationally. For example, NOAA’s Bycatch Reduction Engineering Pro- gram funds research that fosters innovative technological solutions and investigates changes in fi shing practices to minimize bycatch. The program is now accepting applications for this year’s grants. The report announced today is one of several bycatch products that NOAA Fisher- ies is introducing this month, as the agency works on multiple fronts to improve our approach to bycatch. Others include a draft National Bycatch Strategy and an update to our bycatch statistics—both scheduled to come out in the next couple of weeks.


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


( ) 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 _ _ _


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


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


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


License no. ___________


you on the apprentice list along with all of the others! This has happened to more than one person and with this re-working of the wait-list; it can help you as well if something like this should happen to you. I feel that the fi nal conclusion of this bill resulted in a fair start for everyone. It will be written up and sent to fi nal legislation, so I am not going to speak out of turn. When we have the written copy, I will post it on our website for everyone to read. Thank you to our Marine Resource Committee for their careful consideration and hard work for all! The Maine Fishermen’s Forum is coming right up. It is set for March 3 – 6 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. We have a great show planned with Capt. Keith Colburn of the F/V Wizard on the Deadliest Catch TV Show as our guest once again! The Canadian/US Town Meeting, sponsored by the Lobster Institute & Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Foundation is set for March 11-12 at the Westin Harborview Hotel in Portland. We have very interesting topics this year. We hope to see you there. DELA also welcomes new member, Brent Crowley of Jonesport. Welcome aboard! We are always welcoming new membership and hope that you look us up at the Forum. DELA is celebrating 25 years, this year.


We were founded on October 28, 1991 in Jonesport. We believe that during those 25 years, we have helped make a difference! See you at the Forum, Sheila


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