To the editor:
I had a chance to read the article about four guys and a book on the back page of your most recent issue [WWF Oct. 05]. I have also had the opportunity to speak with Ted Ames on several occasions about his ongoing research into spawning grounds and the possibility of combining that research with an ecosystem based management program for the groundfish stocks in eastern Maine. Being a fisherman from Port Clyde I must admit to not being totally convinced yet that this is the best way to go, but given the current state of affairs of groundfish management something that could be proven to work better than what we currently have would be welcome.
There was one statement in your article that I have found is not entirely correct, I know this because I was there and voted for the measure. The statement that you made about the state of Maine closing part of the coast part of the time in response to your book and Ted’s research is untrue. The reason that the coast is closed to groundfishing for six months per year was brought about by shrimp/groundfish fishermen in the days before we had a Nordmore grate installed in our shrimp nets. Many juvenile fish were being caught in shrimp nets due to the fact that the size of the mesh in shrimp nets is much smaller than in groundfish nets. The closure of state waters proposed and voted on by fishermen was seen as a proactive step to protect the resource that we depend on. This was an industry idea conceived by fishermen approved by fishermen and ultimately adopted by our state. Since that time fish excluders (Nordmore grates) have become mandatory in shrimp nets. The grates work very well and have made our shrimp fishery here in Maine one of the cleanest fisheries in the world, very close to zero by catch of juvenile fish, lobsters and just about anything else that swims into shrimp nets except shrimp.
Fishermen as a whole are very conservation and ecologically minded. Given today’s headlines in many news outlets, however, this point is often overlooked…
Glen Libby
Port Clyde