Statement to the Maine Lobster Industry from Commissioner Keliher Regarding Decision to Pull Lobster Gauge Regulation

Last night, after hearing loud and clear from Maine lobster industry members that they are unified in their opposition to a proposed rule change that would increase the minimum gauge size starting in July of this year, with approval from Governor Mills I decided to pull the regulation.

As many of you know, this regulation, which was set to go into effect on July 1st of this year, was a proactive measure intended to respond to declines we have seen in sub-legal lobsters, which are the lobsters that are just below the current legal size limit. The objective of this measure was to leave those small lobsters on bottom for another year so they could mature and reproduce, which would buffer this vital resource against the effects of a changing climate.

It's also important to note that this regulation was required to ensure that Maine remains compliant with ASMFC's Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for Lobster (FMP). So this decision to pull the regulation, driven by the Maine lobster industry's strong and compelling opposition, now requires that I go back to ASMFC and work with the Policy Board on a plan to ensure compliance with the FMP. That plan will require input from industry to ensure that we are proposing measures that achieve conservation benefits that are equivalent to those intended by this regulation.

In the coming months, I will be working with the newly reconvened Lobster Conservation Management Teams as well as the Zone Councils to develop a path forward. I can't promise what the outcome of that process will be, but I can promise that I will work diligently to give industry an opportunity to provide input into this process.

Patrick Keliher
Commissioner
Maine Department of Marine Resources