PORTLAND, Maine — Fishing industry regulators have decided to scrap stricter new lobster fishing standards off New England in the wake of months of protest from lobster fishermen that the rules were unnecessary and would bankrupt harvesters.
The regulators were planning to institute new rules this summer that increased the minimum legal harvest size for lobsters in some of the most important fishing grounds in the world. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council, which manages the fishery, said the changes were important to preserve the future of a lobster population that has shown recent signs of decline.
Many commercial fishermen adamantly opposed the changes, which would have required them to throw back previously market-ready lobsters. An arm of the commission voted on Feb. 4 to initiate a repeal of the new rules in the face of “fervent industry concerns about the potential economic impacts” of the changes, the commission said in a statement.
The elimination of the new size standards will require the fishing industry to come up with strategies to protect the lobster population, said Patrick Keliher, chair of the commission’s lobster board.
“This action being considered by the board will require the Gulf of Maine lobster industry to develop management strategies to ensure the long-term health of the resource and the coastal communities that it supports,” Keliher said.
The size change was set to apply to the Gulf of Maine, a piece of ocean off New England that is vital to American fisheries and home to some of the world’s most popular seafood species, such as lobster, haddock and clams. The commission adopted rules in 2023 that stated legal harvesting size for lobsters would become more strict if the lobster stock in the gulf showed a decline of 35%.
Officials also said in 2023 that the stock declined by nearly 40% when comparing 2020-22 to 2016-18. The decline took place in an era when the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than most of the world’s oceans. Scientists have said that can affect the health and reproduction of lobsters.
The nation’s haul of lobsters has declined in recent years, though the catch is still high compared to historic data. The catch declined about 11% from 2021 to 2023, federal data state.
One of the reasons many fishermen opposed the size change was because of competitive balance with Canada, which harvests the same species. The lobster industry also “contributes billions to New England’s economy and shapes the character of the region,” said fourth generation lobsterman Dustin Delano, who is chief operation officer at New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association.
“Raising catch sizes at this time would bankrupt many lobstermen and surrender the U.S. market to foreign competitors,” Delano said.
