Tag Archives: undersized lobsters
State backs lobstermen in urging regulators to reevaluate changes to minimum size
The rules, which are set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, will increase the minimum size from 3 1/4 inches to 3 5/16 inches, on the gauges that lobstermen use to measure lobsters and determine whether they are allowed to harvest them. A second increase would take effect two years later, bringing the minimum to 3 3/8 inches. The rules also affect the vents in traps that allow undersized lobsters to escape. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says it is making the changes to preserve the long-term future of the lobster population in the Gulf of Maine, which federal data show has sharply dropped. Lobstermen also question the accuracy of the federal data – saying that it was corrected over a small and abnormal time frame that doesn’t indicate the reality of population trends. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:23
NY officers seize undersized lobsters from Price Chopper
The Department of Environmental Conservation says Thursday an investigation was launched in March when officers found short lobsters at two Price Chopper stores in Binghamton. On Tuesday, officers found 820 lobsters, or 15 percent of the inventory, were undersized at the Schenectady distribution center. The retailer could be fined up to $100 for each lobster. Price Chopper spokeswoman Mona Golub said the company’s Cape Cod lobster supplier violated its product specification, and the retailer has since switched to another supplier. DEC donated the seized lobsters to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham. Link 10:43
Three Lobster fishermen convicted of robbing lobster traps and possession of undersized lobsters sentenced
Three fishermen convicted of robbing lobster traps and possession of undersized lobsters in June stemming from their September 2011 arrest were banned from commercial lobster fishing for life and two of them were given prison time. The captain of the Marathon-based commercial lobster fishing vessel Classy Lady, Nelson Rojas, was convicted of trap molesting, tampering, possession of undersized lobster and interference with a conservation officer, according to court records. Read the rest here 11:17
