Tag Archives: ASMFC Lobster Board
Public Hearings on Proposed Rulemaking: Chapter 25.76 Lobster Minimum Size
It has come to the Department’s attention that all interested parties may not have received the notification regarding the public hearings on the proposed rulemaking for Chapter 25.76 Lobster Minimum Size that was sent out in December 2024. For interested parties who did not receive the original notification, we want to make you aware of the hybrid public hearing that will take place tomorrow, January 9 at 5:00 pm in DMR’s Conference Room 118, Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta ME and remotely through Microsoft TEAMS. Information on how to provide a comment or attend this hearing is at the bottom of this notice. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:23
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Chapter 25.76 Lobster Minimum Size
This proposed rule-making incorporates the minimum lobster size required by Addendum XXVII: Increasing Protection of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Spawning Stock that was originally approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in May 2023. In October 2024 Addendum XXXI postponed the implementation of certain measures from Addendum XXVII to July 1, 2025. For compliance with the current Interstate Fisheries Management Plan, this regulation implements changing the minimum size of lobster from 3 ¼ inches to 3 5/16 inches, effective July 1, 2025. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:43
Southern New England Crustacean frustrations ahead of ASMFC Lobster Board meeting
Fisheries regulators this week will weigh the need for new restrictions on lobster catches in the southern New England coastal area in the wake of steep drops in lobster populations that many scientists attribute to warming ocean waters. Some New England fishermen, however, dispute the assessment by the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission, arguing that the situation is not as dire as the regulators fear. Greg Mataronas, president of the Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association, told AMI Newswire that his members are nervous about what steps the commission will take. In the area where he fishes – the ocean waters between the Rhode Island-Connecticut border and Chatham, Mass. – lobster fishermen have already imposed trap restrictions on themselves, he said. Asked about the size of his lobster catches, Mataronas said: “It’s been better and better every year since 2012.” He also expressed some uncertainty about scientists’ view that warming waters were an overriding factor in the challenges facing the lobster population. Read the story here 11:47
