Buy Fresh Buy Local of Cape Cod, Spring Fling member tour
Sunday 6/24/12 10:00-12:00
As a member of BFBL CC Lobster Trap wholesale plant will be participating in the Spring Fling tour. We will be opening our doors to the public from 10:00-12:00 on Sunday 6/24 for tours including our 100,000 lb lobster tank room. Bring a camera to get a photo with a live Jumbo lobster! All welcome!
290 Shore Rd
Bourne, MA 02532
Lobster Trap, wholesale plant employment opportunities
Please contact us to inquire about employment opportunities, we may be looking for your skills or experience!
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
or call 800-360-5111 x215
2012 Boston Seafood Show
March 11-13 we'll be in our regular booth #104... please come see us!
This morning NOAA presented their newly renovated website, www.fishwatch.gov. The site provides the industry and public with up to date data following a wide range of species from the ocean to the table including the ongoing research and fishery management.
Measures in place for sustainability are working!
Maine lobster catch tops 100M pounds for 1st time
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine-lobster-catch-tops-100M-pounds.html
Clarke Canfield / The Associated Press
HALLOWELL — Maine lobstermen last year caught more than 100 million pounds of lobster, the first time the lobster catch has topped the 100 million-pound mark, the state's top fisheries official said today.
The preliminary catch numbers for 2011 illustrates just how strong the lobster resource remains, Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher told The Associated Press. The previous record of 94.7 million pounds, worth more than $313 million, was set in 2010.
"Based on the sheer number of juvenile lobsters we're seeing on the bottom, whether we'll continue at 100 million it's hard to say, but I think we'll continue to show strong landings for the next several years," he said.
David Cousens, a South Thomaston lobsterman and the longtime president of the Maine Lobstermen's Association, remembers when lobstermen were catching 20 million pounds a year. He never imaged the day when the catch would top 100 million pounds.
"Unreal," he said.
Although the lobster catch came in strong last year, lobstermen have been hurt by low prices they've gotten for their catch since 2008, when the global economy sank.
Lobstermen are struggling with high prices for diesel fuel, bait, rope and other equipment, Cousens said.
"Our expenses are through the roof and the price of lobster is $1.50 a pound cheaper than it was in 2006," he said.
Sustainability
For some time now sustainability has been a hot topic throughout the seafood industry. If you aren't familiar with the existing practices we've included some information on how the Canadian and US lobster industries govern this matter, research by the Lobster Institute of Maine.
The American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery, in Canada and the United States, provides this assurance: that it adheres to a comprehensive Sustainability Code of Conduct – doing its part to ensure a healthy, sustainable resource and a vital fishery.
Lobster fishing is more than a way to make a living, it is a way of life. It has been intricately woven into the heritage of North Atlantic coastal communities for generations, and those who fish for lobsters are committed to securing the lobster resource for generations to come.
Responsible harvesting of lobster has been a cornerstone of the fishery’s conservation efforts for over 137 years. The first U.S. and Canadian laws banning the taking of egg-bearing females were instituted in the early1870s…a conservation measure already practiced by many lobstermen at the time; and the first law regulating the minimum legal size of a lobster that could be landed was established shortly thereafter.
Given the ecological differences in various fishing areas, there is no simple management solution appropriate for every region, state, or country. When it comes to regulations, there is no “one size fits all”. However, there are recognized standards, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; and legislated conservation practices based on these standards that exemplify the lobster fishery’s commitment to sustaining the lobster resource. The practices of lobstermen/women as part of today’s Conservation Code of Conduct are listed on the following pages by country.
U.S. Lobster Fishery Conservation Code of Conduct
Each licensed commercial lobsterman/woman is required to conduct their fishing practices as follows:
Abide by the federal Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act – designed based on the “best available” science and outlined by the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Abide by their state’s “V-Notch” system to protect females capable of bearing eggs (since 1872). When a berried lobster (one that is carrying eggs) is found in a trap, a “V” is notched in one of its tail fins and it is released back into the ocean. Whenever a lobster with a “V-Notch” is found in a trap it is to be released, thus protecting the brood stock.
Abide by their state’s regulations governing the minimum size a lobster must be before it is legal to land that lobster (since 1874). This is designed to allow lobsters to become of age to be capable of at least one reproduction cycle before it can be legally landed.
Abide by their state’s regulations governing the maximum size a lobster can be to be consider legal for landing. The larger, or “oversized” lobsters have a greater capacity for breeding and reproduction, thus protecting natural restocking of the resource.
Abide by their state’s regulations governing trap/trap tag limits per licensed lobsterman/woman, thus governing fishing effort. Use traps with “escape vents” that allow sub-legal sized lobsters that come into traps an easier way to get out. Use traps with a biodegradable “ghost panel”. These panels are attached with biodegradable fasteners (hog rings) that dissolve over time if a trap is lost on the bottom, thus allowing lobsters to escape and providing a large opening so that the trap does not continue to fish.
Abide by limited entry and apprentice program in licensing of lobster fishermen/women, thus governing effort.
Reduced or restricted lobster harvesting methods that may prove harmful to the environment (i.e. dragging).
Active participation in co-management initiatives for the fishery, including representation on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Lobster Management Board and Lobster Conservation Management Teams as well as various councils and commissions at the state level.
Canadian Lobster Fishery Conservation Code of Conduct
Each licensed commercial lobsterman/woman is required to conduct their fishing practices as follows:
Abide by management plans put in place by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Recognize the division of the coastal area into 41 fishing districts – Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs).
Abide by their Areas prohibition against landing egg-bearing females (since the early 1870s), thus protecting the brood stock.
Abide by their Area’s minimum size limits a lobster must be before it is considered legal to land (first implemented in the late 1800s then re-introduced in the 1930s and 1940s). This is designed to allow lobsters to become of age to be capable of at least one reproduction cycle before it can be legally landed.
Abide by their Area’s lath or mesh spacing requirements in traps to permit escape of small lobsters (trap selectivity first tried in the late 1940s, but effective implementation did not occur until the mid to late 1990s).
Abide by regulations requiring escape mechanisms on traps to reduce the retention of undersized lobsters, as well as biodegradable panels and rings to ensure that traps lost-at-sea do not continue to catch lobster and other species.
Abide by limited entry in licensing of harvesters (limited entry in the 1960s), thus governing fishing effort.
Fish only with traps – no dragging, which could prove harmful to habitat and breeding grounds.
Abide by their Area’s limitation of the number of traps (1960s), thus governing fishing effort.
Recognize fishing seasons (since the early 1970s) determined by region and LFA.
References:
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act. http://www.asmfc.org/legislation/ACFCMA.pdf
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster http://www.asmfc.org/americanLobster.htm
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/v9878e/v9878e00.pdf
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/sustainable-durable/lobster-homard-eng.htm
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/v9878e/v9878e00.pdf
Fisheries Resource Conservation Council. 2007. Sustainability Framework for Atlantic Lobster 2007: Report to the minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada