This article was first published in Landings, the Maine Lobster Community Alliance (MLCA) newspaper, in August 2024.
U.S. and Canadian lobster fishery representatives met in Saint John, New Brunswick in late June to discuss the implications of the U.S. gauge increase for Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA 1) scheduled to take effect in January 2025. The meeting was in response to the concerns raised by Maine’s lobster industry at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) American Lobster Board meeting in May.
Background
ASMFC adopted Addendum 27 in May 2023 as a proactive measure which would automatically trigger a gauge increase for LMA 1 if the abundance of young lobster showed a 35% decline. The addendum was developed over five years. It was initiated in 2017 but delayed twice – in 2018 and in 2022 – because the lobster industry was deeply embroiled in management and litigation concerning right whale conservation requirements. Following the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s (MLA) historic court victory and Congressional action to delay new whale rules for six years, the ASMFC held public hearings in March 2023 and adopted Addendum 27 in May.
Addendum 27 garnered little attention until last fall when, to everyone’s surprise, scientists determined that the abundance of young lobsters had dropped 39% from the historic high, thus triggering the management action just three months after the addendum was adopted. Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Patrick Keliher urged ASFMC to delay implementation of the gauge increase from June 2024 to January 2025.“I don’t think when we were sitting here in May that we expected to be hitting the trigger as quickly as we did,” he said. He argued that more time was needed to continue discussions with Canada on the implications of having differing gauge sizes between the two countries. The ASMFC moved the date to January 2025.
At the Lobster Institute’s U.S.-Canada Town Meeting in January 2024 in Moncton, New Brunswick, the gauge increase was discussed by an international audience; many in Canada’s lobster industry were surprised to learn about the U.S. gauge increase. They were concerned that a U.S.-only gauge increase would disrupt lobster supply and markets due to the interdependence of the U.S. and Canadian lobster industries.
Lobstermen, dealers have different concerns
After DMR briefed the lobster zone councils on the gauge increase in January and February this year, lobstermen and lobster dealers began to articulate their concerns about the increase and market implications. In April and May, DMR staff returned to the zone councils to brief them on ASMFC’s development of Addendum 30, which seeks to clarify that import of any lobster from Canada under U.S. minimum size would be banned. This discussion revealed a divide between lobstermen, who supported the ban on import of undersize lobster, and dealers, who opposed it.
In May, Maine’s industry associations, individual lobstermen, and lobster dealers traveled to Virginia to express their concerns to ASMFC directly and to request a further delay in the gauge increase. They stressed the need for more time for the U.S. and Canada to address the market and trade issues and to understand if the stock is truly in a downturn.
Commissioner Keliher explained that Addendum 27 is ASMFC’s first attempt “to be proactive with a fishery that is still relatively healthy,” noting however that “[ASMFC’s] focus to work only with the data around sustainability seems to have missed the mark. We missed thinking more about the economic impacts and the flow of lobster with Canada.” ASMFC committed to reviewing the industry’s concerns and engaging with Canada to explore a uniform gauge increase for each country’s Gulf of Maine lobster fishery.
U.S., Canadian lobster sectors meet
A U.S. delegation comprising Maine’s lobster zone council chairs, lobster industry representatives, state managers, and lobster scientists travelled to Canada in June to explore willingness by Canadians to consider increasing their lobster gauge for the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery in tandem with the U.S. The ASMFC may consider delaying implementation of the gauge if Canada is willing to explore an increase, allowing both countries to increase the measure at the same time.
Participants learned about the differences between the U.S. and Canadian lobster management systems. The U.S. allows a year-round fishery, achieving sustainability by prioritizing minimum and maximum gauge sizes and V-notching. Canada achieves sustainability by emphasizing short fishing seasons for each fishing area paired with low trap limits.
Scientists from the U.S. and Canada said that Gulf of Maine lobster fisheries on both sides of the border experienced peak landings in 2016, with similar declines in landings in the ensuing years. Both the U.S. and Canada lobster stock assessments show a healthy stock status and do not indicate a need for management action. However, the science underlying these conclusions differs between the two countries. The U.S. has an expansive fishery-independent lobster monitoring program with long-term time series on all life stages of the lobster collected through larval surveys, settlement surveys, inshore trawl surveys, ventless trap surveys, and commercial sea sampling. Prior to 2024, the U.S. did not have comprehensive harvester reporting.
In Canada, the government does not have fishery-independent surveys for most areas, except Lobster Fishing Area (LFA 34), and instead relies on detailed harvester logbook data to monitor trends in the stock. Canada is seeing a decline in landings in its Gulf of Maine lobster fisheries (LFAs 33 through 38); however, it is experiencing record catches in its northern lobster fisheries (LFAs 27 through 32).
At the meeting, Dan McKiernan from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries explained that the U.S. gauge increase is a proactive measure to protect the lobster stock and the economic well-being of the lobster industry. “A little bit of gauge increase gives you a lot of egg production and that's our insurance against future declines,” he said. The U.S. lobster stock remains healthy, but surveys have shown declines at each life history stage of the lobster. McKiernan noted that Massachusetts is already working on regulations to implement the gauge increase.
DMR Commissioner Keliher noted that Maine is focused on continuing discussions with Canada rather than drafting new regulations. He stated that he is “willing to support a delay in the gauge increase if dialogue continues with Canada on implementing the same changes in Canada.”
Doug Wentzell from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) reiterated that the lobster stock in Canada is healthy so DFO would not mandate a gauge increase. DFO is, however, committed to discussing an increase in the gauge with the industry and will support an increase if that is what the industry wants to do. DFO plans to discuss the U.S. gauge increase in September at its Maritimes Region Lobster Advisory Committee (MARLAC) meeting. DFO acknowledged the merit in considering a gauge increase as a way to ensure the sustainability of the fishery.
Canadian lobster industry representatives expressed their worries about the U.S. and Canada having different gauge sizes. Most of the LFAs have only had informal discussions about the impacts of the U.S. gauge increase, and need more time to continue discussions. Canadian lobstermen have not yet discussed whether they would consider supporting a gauge increase. Industry representatives stated that it could be difficult for multiple lobster fishing areas to voluntarily agree to increase the measure. Lobstermen from Canada’s largest fishing area, LFA 34, explained that lobstermen had planned to vote on a gauge increase this spring but called it off due to confusion over whether the U.S. was going to go through with the change.
Possible impacts in Canada, U.S.
Lobster industry representatives from both sides of the border asked many questions about how a gauge increase would impact lobster catch. ASMFC’s analysis on the impacts of the minimum gauge increase on the LMA 1 fishery showed that the first 1/16” increase, to 3-5/16”or 84 mm, would decrease the number of lobsters landed by 2%, increase the weight of the catch by 3%, decrease the exploitation rate on the stock by 8.5%, and increase spawning stock biomass by 19%, assuming a stable population.
The implementation of the second 1/16” increase, to 3-3/8” or 86 mm, would result in a cumulative 3.6% decrease in the number of lobsters landed, a 5% increase in the weight of the catch, and a 14.4% decrease in the exploitation rate on the stock while increasing spawning stock biomass by 38%.
According to DFO, an average legal size lobster will gain about half a pound when it molts. The current 3 ¼” (82.5 mm) legal size lobster weighs on average just under 1 pound and will molt to 3-11/16” (93.8 mm) and weigh on average 1.44 pounds. DMR biologist Kathleen Reardon added that an analysis of lobster landings shows that lobsters at the current measure (3 ¼” or 82.5 mm) represent approximately 11% of the overall catch and that every 1 mm increase in the size of the lobster represents approximately 10% of the catch.
Canadian fishery representatives expressed deep concern over the impact that a U.S.-only gauge increase would have on the lobster markets and stressed the need to include processors and dealers in these discussions. They were confused over what it would mean for lobster trade between Canada and U.S., asking whether lobster under the U.S. minimum size would be banned from import, and if it is, whether bonded product would still be allowed in the U.S. They were clear that Canadian lobstermen need time to discuss whether they will consider voluntarily increasing the gauge as a precautionary measure.
The U.S. attendees did not have clear answers. Toni Kerns from ASMFC explained that the Commission is working on Addendum 30, which would clarify that live Canadian lobster under the U.S. minimum size will be banned from import to the U.S. That management action is not yet final. If Addendum 30 fails to pass, then decisions about the legality of undersize lobster will be made on a state-by-state basis, which could impact live and bonded product. This would greatly affect Canadian businesses given the substantial increase in spring lobster landings. Canadian dealers are very worried about finding markets for spring lobsters if smaller lobsters are not allowed in the U.S.
Future actions
ASMFC will meet on August 6 to continue discussion on Addendums 27 and 30. The Commission will discuss a further delay in the U.S. gauge increase to provide Canada time to advance its conversations on potentially increasing the gauge as well and to provide clarity on the impacts of lobster trade between the two countries.
Read more on MLCA Landings.
