The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Lobster Board has initiated the process, Draft Addendum XXXI to Amendment 3 of the lobster fishery management, to consider postponing the gauge size increase for the U.S. lobster fishery until July 1, 2025. The gauge increase is currently scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2025.
MLA photo.
A meeting was held between U.S. and Canadian lobster fishery managers and industry members in June 2024 to discuss the management structures and stock assessments of the two countries. Based on this meeting, the Board determined that postponing implementation of Addendum XXVII’s biological measures to July 1, 2025, would reduce negative impacts to the U.S. and Canadian lobster industries in 2025 and allow Canada more time to consider implementing complementary management measures.
“The Board’s decision to initiate a new Addendum that will delay implementation of the first minimum gauge size increase in Addendum XXVII until July 1, 2025, provides additional time for on-going conversations with Canada about shared management measures that can support stock resilience throughout the Gulf of Maine and create a level playing field for U.S. harvesters. It also provides time for the lobster industry in the U.S., including harvesters and dealers, to prepare for the changes outlined in Addendum XXVII,” Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commission Patrick Keliher said in a press statement.
The Board also approved Addendum XXX to clarify that the smallest lobster allowed for foreign imports matches the smallest legal lobster in effect for the U.S. industry as required under the Mitchell Provision of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The current smallest minimum gauge size for lobster in the U.S. is 3¼ inches, and when the LCMA 1 gauge size increases as required under Addendum XXVII, this will change to 3-5/16 inches. Foreign imports smaller than the new minimum gauge size would be prohibited.
“The Lobster Board's approval of Addendum XXX ensures compliance with a requirement under federal law that limits the size of imported lobsters to the smallest size lobster that can be caught in the U.S.,” said Keliher.
These recent actions by ASMFC are in response to concerns raised by Maine’s lobster industry over Addendum XXVII, adopted in May 2023, which created a trigger mechanism to change the gauge and escape vent sizes if there is a decline in small lobsters in order to protect the lobster spawning stock biomass. In October 2023, ASMFC announced that surveys of sub-legal lobsters indicated that the population had fallen below the trigger level, requiring the gauge and vent size changes to take place. Keliher, who serves on the ASMFC board, pushed for a delay to discuss how to handle changes in fisheries management and trade with Canada.
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