Coral closures off MDI seen as threat to Downeast lobstery fishery
Lobster fishery advocates fear that a proposed closure of fishing areas around Mount Desert Rock and the Outer Schoodic Ridges in the Gulf of Maine could negatively impact fishermen.
The closures have been proposed by the New England Fisheries Management Council to protect deep-sea corals discovered there in 2014. The Bangor Daily News reported the planned closures could affect fishermen from at least 15 harbors in Hancock and Washington counties.
“You’re talking a lot of the coast that is going to be affected by it,” Jim Dow, a Bass Harbor lobsterman and board member with Maine Lobstermen’s Association, told the paper.
According to the fisheries council’s website, the proposed Mount Desert Rock closure is located 20 nautical miles south of MDI, while Outer Schoodic Ridge lies 25 nautical miles southeast of MDI.
Maine Department of Marine Resources official Terry Stockwell, who also represents Maine on the NEFMC, said the state has unsuccessfully lobbied the council to make an exception for the lobster fishery at the proposed sites.
NEFMC habitat coordinator Michelle Bachman said the proposed closures make up 2% to 3% of Maine’s lobster fishing areas. The DMR estimated Maine lobstermen could make as much as $25 million annually off the lobster caught in the closure areas.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments