Lobster license changes up for debate in Maine State House If you are obtaining your license online through LEEDS, you MUST print off your license, as we do not print online licenses. Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher is also declining to comment on the proposal until Tuesdays hearing, a spokesman said. Ones name will be removed from the list if they do not respond by Sept. 2. PORTLAND, Maine Scott Beede is one of 302 people on the waiting list for a Maine lobster license. It would also encourage zones to determine their exit-to-entry ratio differently. Lobster licenses now cost fishermen $167 to $501 per year, with trap tags selling for 50 cents each. Currently, Keliher said the ratios are determined by the number of traps a lobsterman holds in the final year of his or her license. That exemption rubs apprentices like Masterson the wrong way. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Fishermen have caught more than 100 million pounds of the crustaceans for the last seven years after never previously reaching that mark in the states history. The Maine Lobstermens Association has yet to take a formal position on the proposal, and is meeting on the issue on Monday evening, said the groups president, Kristan Porter a Cutler lobsterman. Fourteen people in the zone would benefit from McCreights 10-year license bill, including VernonKvorjakof South Thomaston, who missed his student deadline by mere months as a teen. The 2017 total of slightly less than 111 million pounds was the lowest since 2011, but it was still more than twice the 2003 haul. That would instantly add more than 50 new fishermen to the industry during an era of high catches and strong prices, but also concern about warming oceans and new fishing restrictions designed to protect whales. Lobstering is a limited-entry fishery, and there is a long waiting list to get a license. Based on local rules, which say that five lobstermen must leave the fishery before a new one can join, 150 local fishermen will have to retire or die before he can join. At the urging of fishermen, this exemption was created to give the local children in coastal communities, especially Maines many small islands, an easy pathway into the fishery, which in some far-flung harbors is the only work to be found. Ones name will be removed from the list if they do not respond by Sept. 2.Forms are being sent in the mail.The Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources approved changes to the licensing program in February. Mainers on lobster license waiting lists must return form - WMTW The idea was if somebodys been on the list that long, it would be nice to offer them an alternative, McCreight said. Sign up and get our top stories delivered daily to your inbox at 6 a.m. Maine Lobster Laws - So What's the Catch? - LobsterAnywhere.com Jay McCreight, D-Harpswell, has proposed a bill that would give licenses to anyone who has been on the list for a decade or more. Licenses | Department of Marine Resources //Lobster license waiting list | News | mdislander.com That is the youngest age students in Maine can get a lobster license. He declined to take a personal stance on the issue until after the meeting. He is now the chief engineer of a 130-foot tug that pushes oil-laden barges off the coast of New Orleans. Under the present system, Beede may have to wait decades to obtain a lobstering license. Lobstering Zones in Maine. For license holders in limited entry fisheries (lobster, urchins, scallops, sea cucumbers, elvers), if you intend to retain your license in 2021, you must renew your 2020 license by December 31, 2020. In some cases, people are on the waiting list to get a license for decades. In some cases, people are on the waiting list to get a license for decades. But a proposal before a state legislative committee would bring new people into the fishery who have been waiting for 10 or more years. In 2016, Seth Morrissette, a Boothbaysternman, begged the committee for help. In 2018, four wait-listers inKvorjakszone got licenses. He declined to take a personal stance on the issue until after the meeting. It also changes the way old licenses are retired.Get the WMTW App9234718, Amazon Has Uncanny Dupes of CB2's Popular Dining Chair for Hundreds Less. Even removing eggs is illegal and attracts $1,000 for each violation and another $300 for any involved lobster. See Offers. Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher is also declining to comment on the proposal until Tuesdays hearing, a spokesman said. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. You cant legislate to let everyone do what they want to do, he said. PDF State of Maine Department of Marine Resources 21 State House Station Make sure all of your landings reports are up to date, and that you do not owe reports. But that adult apprentice who waits a decade to fish is no more threatening than the student-turned-commercial lobsterman who can enter even the most crowded zone at will,Kvorjaksaid. Were just waiting to see what happens, he said. Were all working on one piece of pie. If the system is changed, some fear it could result in a lower trap limit now at 800 traps per lobsterman for most of the state that could hurt their profits even more. McDonald, a lobsterwoman from Stonington, said a particular problem is that the industry is faced with potential management changes to reduce interactions with the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Scott Beede is one of 302 people on the waiting list for a Maine lobster license. Thats never a real nice feeling.. With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month. Applications for 2020 licenses must be post marked on or before December 31, 2020. If, however, you need us to print you a license, please contact the DMR Licensing Division at 207-624-6550, Option 2, and we would be happy to do so. The idea was if somebodys been on the list that long, it would be nice to offer them an alternative, McCreight said. Sign up and get our top stories delivered daily to your inbox at 6 a.m. Dreaming of a lobster license, but trapped on a waitlist. Hed like to buy his stepfathers boat and traps so his stepfather can retire, but first he has to get his own license something he says is nearly impossible under existing rules. LOBSTER BOATS SIT at their moorings at dawn at Pretty Marsh Harbor in Mount Desert. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. The Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources approved changes to the licensing program in February. As chairman of the local lobster zone council, Horner has voted to ease local entry requirements facing wait-listers, butdoes not want to speed it up too much. The Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources says keeping an estimated 300 people on the waiting list is bad for the industry, and wants to make the process move faster. More than 200 people are waiting in the wings for a lobstering license, which has long been a ticket to the middle class for working coastal Mainers. Rep. William Tuell, R-East Machias, said he is torn over what to do about the waitlist. Until we know the outcome of these discussions it is very difficult to pass legislation that would increase lobster fishing effort, McDonald said. Lobster tags take 4 to 6 weeks - please plan accordingly. But it could have far-reaching effects.. I understand the frustration of the people waiting, Taylor said. The response has been some very much in favor and some very much opposed.. But a proposal before a state legislative committee would bring new people into the fishery who have been waiting for 10 or more years. [CDATA[ If you wait too long after the 6 week period, we can no longer track them. PDF files below requires Adobe Acrobat or the free Adobe Reader (download here) to view or print. Holly Masterson got her start in the lobster industry when she was 15, when her stepfather, David Horner, hired her to stock and clean up his boat at night. Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. If you owe reports your license will not be available to renew. Getting a jump start on a lobstering career with the Maine student The Maine Lobstermens Association has yet to take a formal position on the proposal, and is meeting on the issue on Monday evening, said the groups president, Kristan Porter a Cutler lobsterman. If, however, you need us to print you a license, please contact us and we would be happy to do so. If you are renewing your lobster license with the same vessel as last year, and there has been a change on that vessel, your tags will be ordered exactly as they were the year before. ADVERTISEMENT Mainers on lobster license waiting lists must return form to state, The Maine Department of Marine Department is asking anyone on a lobster license waiting list to contact them.The department said there are six different waiting lists.As part of a law passed earlier this year, the department must check with anyone on the list and get an updated address. He wants zones to consider his or her historical fishing effort instead, to get a more accurate number for the allowable new traps. But students who complete their apprenticeship before they turn 20, or 23 if they are in college, can bypass the list altogether. Comments are not available on this story. (Gregory Rec / Portland Press Herald). Another member of the marine resources committee, Democratic Rep. Genevieve McDonald, said concern over possible changes in lobster fishing rules make it difficult to let new fishermen onto the water. They started documenting everything as soon as they learned of therequirements, butdidnt have enough logged time in to complete the program until he was a few months past 18. To limit the number of lobsters being caught, the first thing the state does is regulate the number of fishermen in the state. Long waits prompt Maine lobster licensing review - Boston.com
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