Maine lobstermen have one less piece of red tape to wade through thanks to Rep. Jonathan McKane (R-Newcastle) and Gov. Paul LePage.
Governor LePage signed LD 49 last week, a bill which allows Mainers to store lobster traps and related trap lines, buoys and bait bags on docks.
Prior to the bill signing officials from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had the authority to prohibit and regulate the storage of traps on docks.
Representative McKane of Newcastle sponsored LD 49, which was passed unanimously by the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee.
Rep. McKane informed committee members during the public hearing regarding LD 49 that over the past three and a half years a lobsterman in South Bristol has been fighting with the DEP to get permission from them to store his traps, when they are not being fished, on his new dock.
McKane cited the DEP denied his request citing “permanent loss of habitat” as a result of the traps shading the seaweed below.
“Somewhere along the line things have gone terribly wrong. The DEP does not need to regulate lobster trap storage,” Rep. McKane told committee members.
McKane said it is unfortunate that it took this long to get something off the books that is so vital to one of Maine’s most traditional trades.
“This is something that never should have happened, but I’m happy that we have found a solution.” Chester Rice of Damariscotta requested the bill and said it’s common sense reform for lobstermen. “Lobstermen won’t have to put up with that bureaucracy again and that’s a good thing,” Rice said.
According to the Island Institute, Maine’s working waterfront supports more than $740 million in state revenue and 35,000 jobs. The Maine Lobsterman’s Association supported the passage of LD 49 testifying to the fact that the State of Maine boasts 5300 miles of coastline, but only 20 miles of working waterfront remain. But, nearly 60 percent of Maine’s working waterfront is privately owned, and therefore is vulnerable to conversion to non-working waterfront uses.
Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association told lawmakers that Maine’s 5500 commercial lobstermen are individual owner operators, and they depend on fully utilizing this access to go to work each day.
“This bill is good for Maine’s working waterfronts, the lobster industry and our economy,” McCarron said.
The bill will go into effect 90 days after the last day of session.
