Amid boom in catch, debate rages over lobster license rules

AUGUSTA, MAINE >> Members of the next generation of Maine lobster fishermen say they fear they will never get a license to fish for the valuable critters, but some longstanding lobstermen fear changing the rules could result in overfishing.

A key Maine legislative panel held a public hearing on Wednesday on cha nges desi g ned t o streamline the process of obtaining one of about 5,800 lobstering licenses in the state. The call for changes comes as Maine lobsters have grown in value in recent years, and prices have held steady for consumers as lobstermen’s catches have boomed, resulting in heavy supply.

A vote could come as early as Feb. 17.

There are nearly 300 people on the waiting list for a license, and some have been on the list for more than a decade. Ethan DeBer y, a Phippsburg lobsterman who completed an apprenticeship and has been on the list for seven years, said the current system isn’t fair.

“I wake up every morning and I look at my late father’s trap pile in the yard,” DeBery said. “If you’re not going to get off the list until you’re 50, there’s no point in even getting a boat. That’s not real entr y.”

Rep. Walter Kumiega, D-Deer Isle, has proposed the changes, which include the creation of a new class of license that would be limited to 300 traps instead of the usual 800. Another piece of the proposal would require the state’s lobster f i shing zones t o grant new licenses based on the number of retired licenses instead of the number of retired traps. The zones currently use a mix of those two methods.