In 2010, the way our groundfish fishery here along the coast of Maine is managed will be transformed from the current system where time spent on the water by fishermen is counted, to one where the fish taken out of the ocean will be counted. The decision to make this change, however, is happening now.
At the June meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council, a vote will be taken to replace old system called Days-at-Sea with a new system called Sectors.
A sector is a group of fishermen who have chosen to work together to manage a quota of fish (determined by scientifically-based catch limits) and share in the costs of developing and maintaining their own fishing network.
The sector system is very similar to a cooperative where all members have rights and responsibilities. Among the rights afforded sector participants are the flexibility to decide how and when to catch their allotment of fish and the security that they are being treated fairly. Among the responsibilities are that each individual in the sector will have to report to a sector manager and not exceed their allotment of catch. By adhering to catch limits, the hope is that our groundfish fishery will finally recover to the abundance that has eluded us for so long under the Days-at-Sea system.
What does this mean for the people of the state of Maine who are not fishermen? To me, a stable local food supply is of vital importance. Our fisheries are managed by a law called the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Part of this law states that our fisheries are owned by the people of the United States for the common good of the population, for food. The fishermen are ultimately paid to bring these natural resources to the people who own them.
Industry, particularly here in Maine, is fundamental for local jobs. The groundfish industry has been a part of Maine’s economy for centuries. The disappearance of this industry would be a huge loss for not only the fishermen, but for our coastal fishing communities and the rest of our state. No new permits for groundfishing are being issued and if fishermen go out of business, they will sell their permits along with their boats and gear. If the permits are sold out of Maine, as often happens, our access to this local food supply will be diminished. Consider that there is now only one active groundfish fisherman between Port Clyde and the Canadian border-one. The attrition has already started and without a healthy fishery it will continue.
One of the saving graces for our group of small boat fishermen in Port Clyde is our Fresh Catch share program, a Community Supported Fishery (CSF). This direct marketing of our fish to consumers can actually help us all maintain a healthy fishery. However, there are two factors that complicate the Fresh Catch share program. One is the weather; if it is not safe for the boats to go out due to high winds and rough seas, there is no fish to be delivered. The other one is Days-at-Sea because scheduling trips can be problematic.
When a fisherman leaves the dock, his time on the water is monitored by a vessel tracking system. After passing a line drawn on the ocean-for us, between the gunning rocks and old cilley bell, about 15 minutes from the Port Clyde harbor-the Days-at-Sea clock starts ticking. Fishing time is charged from this point until the fisherman crosses that line on the way back to port.
Due to the low abundance of fish near to shore, getting to an area where we can find fish means approximately a four-hour steam to fishing grounds. One third of a day’s fishing time is used going back and forth from the grounds in the best circumstances. More non-fishing time is used handling gear; no fish are caught during this activity.
If fish are needed to fill an order for the CSF market, it is essential to try to schedule the trip and the delivery carefully because asking a fisherman to make a short trip to the fishing grounds to fill an order can easily use up a half a day at sea worth of time, which may not even be profitable.
Under a sector system, instead of time, fish will be counted. This will not only be more profitable for the fisherman and give us better data for future planning, but it will make it easier to schedule CSF deliveries and result in less disruption as the fishing season progresses. A short trip will now work.
By counting fish instead of time, fishing mortality will be controlled. Catch limits will be set so that enough fish will be left in the ocean to reproduce. Fishing should improve over time, and our inshore fishery could be revived. Fishing businesses should be more profitable and the loss of fishing permits here in Maine could end. This important piece of our local seafood supply will be stabilized, and this resource that is owned by all of us will finally have a chance to recover to abundance.
Glen Libby is chairman of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association and president of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative.