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The Lobster Institute Secures Seed Funds for Its C.O.R.E. Campaign
Conservation,
Outreach,
Research
and Education
…for the future of the lobster industry.
Conservation, Outreach, Research, and Education….
these are the core functions of the Lobster Institute and the key goals driving
the Institute’s aptly named C.O.R.E. Campaign.
In the fall of 2003 Bill Adler, chairman of the Lobster
Institute’s Board of Advisors, announced the Institute was planning a campaign
“to secure the operations of the Lobster Institute and allow us to respond
rapidly to challenges facing the lobster industry.”
He added that a successful campaign “will give us needed security, and
thus freedom, to pursue crucial areas of research in a timely fashion,
particularly in the area of lobster health.”
A preliminary goal for seed capital, to be used for both planning and
implementing the campaign had been set at $100,000. Jim and Betty Knott of
Riverdale Mills and the Darden Restaurants Foundation propelled this effort
forward, each contributing early gifts of $10,000.
Campaign Advisory Committee Chairman Dana Rice now reports that
this mark has been reached and exceeded,
with over $114,000 received in gifts and pledges to-date. “Thanks go out to
two groups who contributed the majority of the seed funds,” said Rice. “The
members of the Committee and a number of coastal community banks
in
Maine have been the primary supporters, helping us to get this campaign
underway.” (Banks supporting the
effort to-date are noted in the sidebar.) He
added that all Maine
banks will be given the opportunity to support the C.O.R.E. Campaign, and future
plans call for this “Bank Initiative” sub-campaign to be extended into other
lobstering states as well as Canada.
A strategy for an “Industry Elite”
sub-campaign is also in the works. The
objective of this effort is to obtain, from within the lobster industry, the
$150,000 in contributions needed to meet a challenge issued by the Darden
Restaurants Foundation. The challenges calls for a 2:1 match to be raised to
realize a $75,000 grant they are offering.
Four key industry leaders are spearheading this effort:
Darden Restaurants, East Coast Seafood, Ocean Cuisine (formerly Fisheries
Products International), and Riverdale Mills. “We
are ready to begin what we’re calling the Pacesetters Phase of the
campaign,” states Lobster Institute Executive Director Dr. Bob Bayer.
“We are looking for that first six or seven figure gift that will start
the ball rolling toward our ultimate goal of $4.8 million.
We have set our standards high out
of respect for the mission and goals of the Institute and, most importantly, for
the lobster industry and the men and women who are its backbone.”
For more information on the Lobster Institute’s
C.O.R.E. Campaign, call 207-581-1443 or email cathy.billings@umit.maine.edu.
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Taking the Lead in Fostering Industry-wide and
International Communication
Did
you know that the Lobster Institute has a long history of bringing everyone to
the table to share ideas and exchange information about the lobster resource and
the lobster industry? Fostering
open communication is one of the founding principles of the Lobster Institute
and remains a bedrock of the Institute today.
“We encourage collaboration and communication between all geographic
areas of the fishery to reinforce the fact that all share and rely on a common
resource that must be protected.” said the Institute’s executive director,
Dr. Bob Bayer.
Since its inception in 1987, the Lobster
Institute’s Board of Advisors has had representation from all sectors of the
lobster industry – including harvesters, pound owners, dealers, processors,
researchers, managers, and others. It quickly grew to
include members from all regions of the American lobster fishery – from Long
Island Sound to Newfoundland [see the current list of 2004-2005 Board of
Advisors opposite]. The Board meets quarterly to provide guidance and
counsel to the Institute and to update one another on the health of the resource
and the vitality of the industry in their respective regions.
In addition, the Lobster Institute has been a leader in
the organization of many international lobster workshops and conferences.
It all started in 1988 with the first Lobster Dealers and Pound Operators
Conference, sponsored jointly by the Lobster Institute, the Maine Lobster Pound
Association, and the Maine Import/ Export Lobster Dealers Association. An annual event for many years, this conference brought
people from Canada and the U.S. together to discuss innovations in lobster
storage and shipping, trade issues, and marketing.
In 1993 the Lobster Institute was instrumental in spearheading the first
International Lobster Congress, held in Portland. The Congress featured a
“Lobster Hall of Information”; an in-the-water boat show; as well as a
variety of seminars on such topics as lobster health, management updates, and
new product development.
The Lobster Institute’s dedication to fostering open
communication in the lobster industry is still evident today. In April of
this year, the Institute hosted the first Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen’s Town
Meeting. This gathering brought together lobstermen from New York through
Nova Scotia to share their observation of the status of the lobster resource and
habitat, with the goal of learning from one another and providing scientists
with information to help direct their research. “What impacts the
fishery in one area could very well impact the fishery in others, that’s why
we invited lobstermen from Canada down through to Long Island Sound to join
us,” said Dana Rice, chairman of the 2004 Town Meeting planning committee.
The Institute will host another Town Meeting in April of 2005, with a focus on
lobster fisheries management. Details will be available in the Winter 2005 Lobster
Bulletin.
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Lobster
Institute 2004-2005
Board of Advisors Elects Officers
The Lobster Institute Board of Advisors held elections
of officers at a meeting on September 13. Re-elected
to serve as Chairman was William Adler, Executive Director of the Massachusetts
Lobstermen’s Association and a lobsterman from Green Harbor, MA.
Re-elected as Vice Chairman was Herbert Hodgkins of Hancock, Maine,
Executive Director of the Maine Lobster Pound Association.
Dr. Robert Bayer continues as Executive Director & President of the
Friends of the Lobster Institute and Jean Day continues as Secretary/Clerk. The
Lobster Institute thanks these key volunteers and all who serve on its 2004-2005
Board of Advisors.
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Readers may contact the Lobster Institute for more
detailed information on any of the projects reported.
Extrusion
processing to produce an expanded snack product is a novel method of adding
value to crustacean processing by-products. One of the primary benefits of
extrusion is that it can transform a highly perishableinitial product into a
shelf stable food.
Three separate extrusion studies were conducted at the University of
Maine. A summary report noted the
final products were well accepted by the consumer panel, both in terms of flavor
and texture. Final results also demonstrated that minced crab by-product could
be successfully utilized in the production of a flavorful, calcium rich,
extruded snack with good textural properties.
The report states additional flavor work is needed to produce a coating
with acceptable flavor and lower fat content. Also that future work should focus
on evaluating and improving the snack’s shelf life before commercialization. A
complete copy of the final report for this project is available by calling the
Lobster Institute at 207-581-1443 or emailing jean.day@umit.maine.edu.
Berried
Lobster Tracking and Temperature Project – The purpose of this project, coordinated by Win
Watson of the University of New Hampshire and Diane Cowan of The Lobster
Conservancy, is to obtain long-term records of the temperatures experienced by
berried females and their eggs. Approximately 120 lobsters have been fitted with
HOBO Tidbit temperature loggers, in 3 different locations: 1) NH Coast; 2) near
Friendship, ME; 3) offshore canyons and Georges Bank. Below is a lobster with a
tidbit attached. Several lobstermen in each area have tidbit readers that can
download data from the tidbit without removing it.
If you capture a lobster BEFORE
March of 2005. please release it and contact Dr. Watson or Dr. Cowan with the
following information:
•
Date of capture
• Location of capture, preferably with GPS coordinates
• Lobster ID # located on a white piece of paper on the top of the tidbit. It
should read something like: M2 or NH 3 or O 5. M=Maine, NH=NH and
O=offshore
• Your name, phone number and email address.
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Results of Two Recent Lobster Science Workshops Are on the Internet
Two lobster science workshops held recently have posted
results on the Internet. The AVC
Lobster Science Centre hosted a
workshop on July 28-30 at the University
of Prince Edward Island in
Canada. Sessions included
environmental science, lobster health, and fisheries management &
conservation.
Results are posted at www.lobsterscience.ca/workshop.
The fourth annual Long Island Sound Lobster
Health Symposium was held on October 4 at Stony Brook University in New York.
Sessions included disease and response to stress, monitoring stocks and
habitat, and pesticide sources and effects.
A summary is available at www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/LILobsters. z
Lobster
Institute Hosts Visitors from Western Australia
The Lobster Institute welcomed Glen Davidson, Research and Quality Manager, and Leo Zinetti, Production Manager, from the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative in Australia for a visit this summer. The visit included trips to Harlan Billings’ lobster pound and boatyard in Stonington, Maine (above) and the Chemical Food Safety Laboratory at the University of Maine. z
