Newport, Rhode Island – The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Addendum XV to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. Addendum XV modifies the Lobster Conservation Management Area 1 (LCMA 1 – Gulf of Maine) permit process in federal waters in response to increasing lobster fishing effort in that area since 2000 (highest on record since 1981). While lobster abundance in the Gulf of Maine is relatively high there is concern that high levels of fishing effort in the area are not likely to be sustainable if abundance returns to long-term median levels. Further, limited access programs in other lobster management areas and recent constraints on traditional trawl fisheries have the potential to shift trap gear fishing effort to LCMA 1 where there is open access.
Specifically, the Addendum maintains the historic level of trap fishing effort (2004 – 2008) and curtails a potential influx of new federal lobster vessels in LCMA 1 federal waters fishery (3 – 200 miles from shore). The Addendum also limits entry of vessels which have not fished with traps in LCMA 1 in the past from fishing in Area 1 with traps in the future. The actions under Addendum XV will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service as recommendations for action in the federal waters portion of LCMA 1.
Addendum XV will be available via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. For more information, please Toni Kerns, Senior FMP Coordinator for Management, at (202) 289-6400 or tkerns@asmfc.org.