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Lobster
Institute 2001-2002 Needs Assessment Survey Results Available
The Lobster Institute’s Strategic Plan calls
for the Institute to “seek input from lobstermen and industry members through
as many avenues as possible” and suggests “ongoing regular needs assessment
surveys to provide long range planning guidance to the Institute.” Following this directive, the Institute distributed a 2001-2002
Needs Assessment Survey through a variety of means. Response was modest and
is not representative enough to draw scientific conclusions. However it is
sufficient to provide anecdotal evidence of perceived needs within the lobster
fishery.
Demographics: A
partial demographic profile of the 86 survey respondents is as follows:
·
52
respondents are from the United States and 34 from Canada.
·
Of the US respondents 26 were from Massachusetts, 20 from Maine, 5 from Rhode
Island, and 1 from New York.
All of the Canadian respondents were attendees at
a lobster workshop in Nova Scotia – primarily fishermen from Lobster
Fishing Areas 31 and 32.
o
Range:
High = 1,700 Low = 10
o
U.S. Mode
= 800 (33%/21 respondents)
o
Canadian
Mode = 250 (75%/21 respondents)
·
Of those
who responded the majority (37%) are between the ages of 50-59, followed by 28%
ages 40-49. Of the respondents from
the US outside of Maine, no one was less than 40 years of age.
Trap limits:
·
When
asked whether or not they favored trap limits 94% of the respondents said
“yes”.
·
This
number decreased slightly to 90% when looking at just U.S. respondents, but
increased to 100% when looking at just Canadian respondents.
Regarding a closed season:
·
The
majority (57%) of respondents said they felt there should be a closed season.
·
However,
of U.S. respondents in Maine, only 32% said there should be a closed season,
while the majority (68%) said there should be no closed season.
·
And the
U.S. outside of Maine, the response was only 42% for a closed season and 58%
opposed.
·
Yet, when
looking at Canadian responses, a full 85% said there should be a closed season,
with only 15% opposed to a closed season.
·
The opinions on what months should be closed to lobstering
were quite varied.
Summary
of the needs assessment questions:
Respondents
were asked to rate the level of importance for the Lobster Institute to engage
in certain activities and areas of research. The scale ranged from “not at all
important” to “extremely important” The survey revealed the following:
Involvement
and representation:
·
Above all
other areas of focus, survey respondents indicated it was “extremely
important” (64%) for the Lobster Institute to “involve fishermen in
research projects”. When
aggregated with those indicating “very important” and “important”, this
figure rose to 95%.
·
Only 32%
felt it was “extremely important” for the Institute to work with other
researchers. However, when combined
with “very important” (36%) and “important” (31%) this figure rose to
99%.
·
48% of
respondents felt it was “extremely important” for the Institute to have
representatives from all aspects of the fishery on its advisory board.
When combined with “very important” (25%) and “important” (21%)
this figure rose to 94%.
Education:
·
A high
percentage of respondents (92%) attached some level of importance to the
Institute providing educational activities for those in the lobster industry
·
83%
attached some level of importance to the Institute providing educational
activities for the general public.
·
Only 75%
attached some level of importance to the Institute providing educational
activities for K-12 students, with 18% saying it was “not very important”.
Research:
·
49 %
listed “effects of environmental toxins” as an area that was
“extremely important” for the Institute to focus its research efforts on.
More respondents rated this “extremely important” than any other
area.
·
This area
also received the highest percentage of Canadian respondents (53%) indicating it
to be “extremely important”
·
In the US
in Maine, the area with the highest percentage of respondents indicating
“extremely important” (59%) was “sustaining the herring population”.
·
In the US
outside of Maine, the area with the highest percentage of respondents indicating
“extremely important” (63%) was “creating a new stock assessment
model”.
·
When
combining “extremely” and “very important”, the focus area checked by
most respondents was “lobster stock assessment” (83%); followed
closely by “creating a new stock assessment model” (79%) and “effects of
environmental toxins” (78%).
·
When
ratings of “extremely
important”, “very important” and “important” were combined, all areas
of research were rated highly – ranging from “hatchery programs” at 78% to
“lobster health” and “stock assessment” both at 99%.
Institute
Director Bob Bayer Named to Fishermen and Scientists Research Society
Dr. Bob Bayer, Director of the Lobster Institute, was recently approved
as a member of the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society (FSRS) based in
Halifax, Nova Scotia. The primary
objective of the FSRS is to “facilitate and promote effective communication
between fishermen, scientists, and the general public.”
Current FSRS projects relating to lobsters include:
·
Short
Term Recruitment Index
·
Carapace
Length Frequency Study
·
Weight
vs. Carapace Length Study
·
Collect
catch & effort, oceanographic,
Preliminary estimates
released in late February by the Ntional Marine Fisheries Service reported
landings of nearly 48 million pounds of lobster in Maine in 2001, compared with
an estimated 53 million pounds landed in 2000. No dollar values were
reported at this time. z
Readers may contact the Lobster Institute for more
detailed information on any of the projects reported.
v
Spatial Dynamics of the Maine Lobster Fishery –
With a $7,900 grant from Thistle Marine, LLC, and the Maine Department of Marine
Resources, Yong Chen of the University of Maine’s School of Marine Sciences is
conducting a project: Spatial Dynamics of the Maine Lobster Fishery. Researchers
will use existing data and information from a variety of sources to improve a
population dynamics model of the lobster fishery. The spatial dynamics of the
fishery will be quantified, and the results will be used to evaluate management
and stock assessment practices.
v
Fishermen
and Scientists Research Society Reports on Lobster Recruitment Index Project
– A report on the “Lobster Short Term Recruitment Index Project” underway
through the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society (based in Halifax, Nova
Scotia) was presented by Senior Data Analyst Carl MacDonald at the March 26
Lobster Workshop presented by the Eastern Shore Fisherman’s Protective
Association. MacDonald explained
that the goal of the study is to get an indication of the number of
recruitment-size lobsters that will molt to legal size in coming seasons, in
various locations throughout Nova Scotia. Traps
of one inch mesh with no escape vents are being employed by over 120 volunteer
fishermen in nine fishing areas involved in the study – Lobster Fishing Areas
(LFAs) 27, 29, 30, 31a, 31b, 32, 33, 34, and 35.
Other data collected through the study includes: number of males vs.
females captured, various sizes of juvenile lobsters in areas, number and size
of berried females, and temperature data (collected seasonally).
According
to MacDonald, the project was initiated in the spring of 1999 and is scheduled
to operate for 5 years, in an attempt to determine the trends in recruitment
over time.
Preliminary
results for LFA 32, from 11 volunteer fishermen, were conveyed as follows:
Year
#Traps #
Hauls # Lobsters
Avg./Trap Haul
1999
20
781
831
1.1
2000
22
1,057
1,311
1.2
2001
20
1,049
1,005
1.0
In 2001, 503
males, 466 females, and 36 berried females were reported.
Below is their size breakdown, in millimeters:
|
>50 |
51-60 |
61-70 |
71-80 |
81-90 |
91-100 |
101-110 |
111-120 |
|
5 |
33 |
120 |
114 |
135 |
271 |
217 |
110 |
MacDonald noted that there has not been much difference in recruitment or
the number and size of lobsters during the course of the study to-date.
More detailed results will be available in FSRS newsletters and on their
website at www.nfrs.ns.ca.
v
Maintaining Protein Levels and Use of Ultrasound Technology Are Two New
Areas of Study for Institute – A decrease in protein levels caused by stress from
handling is one theory for shipped lobsters arriving dead or in a weakened
condition. The Lobster Institute
has begun studies on enhancing shipping survival in an effort to counter high
mortality rates and maintain a healthy, quality product.
The Institute will look at various naturally occurring compounds as
supplements. The work was prompted
by similar studies using spiny lobsters conducted in Australia.
The Institute is also working with Dr. Ken Andries to examine ultrasound technology
as a diagnostic tool for use with lobsters.
Below is a sample of an image of lobster tissue taken using this
technique. The
equipment used to produce this image was purchased by Dr. Andries for beef
cattle evaluation.
v
Lobster Library Available on Lobster Institute Website –
A searchable library of scientific publications focusing on American lobsters is
available on the Lobster Institute’s website at www.lobsterinstitute.org.
This feature of the website is sponsored by Farm Credit of Maine.
z
Lobster Institute Introduces Two New
Partner Providers
The Lobster Institute is pleased to welcome two new companies to its
Partner Providers program. Brandline
Corporation is now a participating Partner.
Of particular interest to lobster lovers is their line of Tervis
Tumblers, featuring unique insulated mugs and tumblers with bright embroidered
lobsters embedded in the double walls.
Also joining the Partner Provider program is Yankee
magazine. Yankee, “The
Magazine of New England Living”, includes recipes from great New England
cooks, a monthly calendar of events and getaway tips, articles about the people
who make New England special, a peak inside the region’s most coveted homes,
unique crafts and crafters, and much more.
You can find out more about all of the
Institute’s Partner Providers at www.lobsterinstitute.org.
For each order
placed with a Partner Provider company through the Institute’s website, the
Institute will receive a royalty to help with its research and educational
outreach. You
can also subscribe to Yankee magazine and support the Lobster Institute
by using the tear out order form below. Subscribers
receive a $4 discount off the regular subscription price, plus Yankee will
contribute $8 to the Institute for each subscription received using the form
below, or through the Institute’s website. z
