Maine delays technology for tracking sea urchin fishery
The Maine Department of Marine Resources is delaying its plan to track the sea urchin fishery with swipe cards until fall 2016, MPBN reported Thursday.
The state’s implementation of the plan is being delayed because more testing is needed to resolve software problems with the swipe cards, a department spokesman told MPBN.
The swipe card system is similar to a program the state unveiled for the elvers fishery last year and is supposed to allow the state to collect information about volume and price of urchin sales in real time.
Harvested for its roe, green sea urchins have become one of Maine’s most valuable commercial marine resources in recent years, according to a Department of Marine Resources report on the fisheries released in August.
The preliminary figures for 2013-14 season landings pegged the catch at 1.9 million pounds valued at $5.1 million, according to the report.
Urchin landings peaked during the 1992–93 season at 39 million pounds valued at $23.5 million and declined in following years due to stock declines, management actions and harvester attrition, according to the report.
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