Dear Maine Lobstermen

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) has been receiving feedback from lobstermen on ideas to make Maine’s lobster industry stronger. Those offering ideas believe they are common sense ways to improve the quality of the lobsters caught in Maine and keep the lobster stock healthy.

The MLA wants to know what you think about these ideas, so we are asking you to complete this short survey. At this point, we only seek to understand if there is enough interest from the industry to warrant further discussion on any of these topics.

There are no right or wrong answers, we are just looking for feedback. Your responses will be kept confidential.

This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association Board

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* 1. Tell us about yourself:

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* 2. We’ve been hearing a lot about the pros and cons of various methods of cutting a v-notch. Some lobstermen believe that using a v-notch tool consistently creates a clean 1/4” V in the tail flipper without stressing the lobster. A lobster with a 1/4” V-notch is protected from harvest by Area 3 and Outer Cape Cod lobstermen for two molts.

Do you think that using a V-notch tool is the most efficient way to cut a clean 1/4" V-notch with the least amount of stress for the lobster?

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* 3. Do you current V-notch lobsters?

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* 4. If you notch, what tool do you use?

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* 5. We are hearing from many lobstermen that many of their traps are filled with short lobsters. They are concerned that those short lobsters are getting damaged in the trap before they have a chance to throw them back. Some believe that adding an extra vent would clear more shorts out and prevent them from getting damaged. They also think it could get more crabs out of the traps. This would reduce crowding in the traps making more space to catch legal lobsters.

Are your lobster traps retaining a lot of shorts and crabs?

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* 6. How many vents do you have in your traps?

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* 7. If you fish more than 1 vent, what size(s) are they?

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* 8. Where are the extra vents in your traps located?

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* 9. If you fish only 1 vent, what's your opinion on adding another to get more shorts out of the traps?

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* 10. Many lobstermen report that lobster claws and legs are getting damaged when they break the trap over the rail, or when they work them out of the bottom of the trap. Some have shared that adding a claw saver panel to the bottom of the parlor section significantly reduces damage to lobsters and allows them to clear those traps a lot faster.

Do you find that lobsters are damaged when claws and legs slip through the mesh on the bottom of the trap?

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* 11. What do you think about adding claw saver mesh to the bottom of the parlor section of the trap?

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* 12. Some lobstermen are concerned that bio escape panels are not allowing selects, oversize and eggers out of the traps when gear is lost. They have suggested increasing the size of the bio panel.

Do you think that the current bio panels are working adequately to release bycatch in lost traps?

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* 13. What do you think about making bio panels on lobster traps larger?

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* 14. MLA has heard frustrations from lobstermen who are fishing around those who have committed egregious violations. The violators have lost their license for a few years but then come back and continue to break the rules.

Are there any violations that you think should warrant a permanent loss of license after the first or second offense?

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* 15. The idea of requiring drug testing for lobstermen has been discussed in the past and has been raised again recently.

Do you think the Maine lobster industry should explore establishing a drug testing program for Maine's licensed lobster Captains?

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* 16. Thank you for sharing your opinions on ideas brought to us. If you have other thoughts or ideas on ways to make Maine’s lobster industry stronger, please share them with us. Thank you!

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