New England fishermen's association to protest "unfair" rules favouring Canadian competitors
An association of fishermen from New England will be going to the US Congress later this week to warn lawmakers that American fishermen are losing out to Canadian competitors thanks to "unfair" rules amid a spike in tensions between the two countries.
Dustin Delano, lobster fisherman and Chief Operating Officer of the New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association (NEFSA), is scheduled to testify before the House Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee.
Among other issues, Delano will explain that American and Canadian vessels are bound by different rules, even when they are fishing the same areas. NEFSA said that, as a result, US fishermen make less money, resources are depleted, and conservation objectives fail.
"American fishermen remain bound by stringent US conservation regulations; Canadian fishermen are not," said Delano.
"Thus, American fishermen work the same waters as their Canadian counterparts at an unfair disadvantage while Canadian vessels exploit looser rules. The result is a one-sided depletion of resources that US policy was designed to protect.
"In other words, American fishermen suffer all the collateral damage of overregulation, while the sustainability purpose of the regulation is entirely thwarted."
NEFSA said Canadian ground fishermen enjoy many advantages thanks to American regulations.
Canadian fishermen land higher yields per trawl owing to regulatory restrictions on mesh size. Canadian fishermen can trawl with a 5.2-square-inch (34-square-cm) mesh, while American fishermen in the Gulf of Maine are restricted to a 6.5-square-inch (42-square-cm) diamond mesh.
NEFSA said that although the differential sounds small, at only 1.3 inches (3.3 cm), the practical difference is "enormous," and the smaller mesh lands a much higher yield.
Canadian lobstermen have also benefited from a contested fishing area known as the "gray zone," an area of 277 square miles (717 square km) off the coast of Maine and Canada claimed by both countries since the Revolutionary War.
For years, the contested waters produced a modest lobster catch; now there is an abundance of lobster.
In the gray zone, Americans must toss back any lobster with a carapace longer than five inches (12 cm). NEFSA said Canadians have no such limits. Canadians can catch "jumbo" lobsters while Americans cannot.
The association said Canadians will continue to dominate the market while they catch the most popular lobster without interference.
"NEFSA is thankful for the opportunity to present these critical concerns to the House Committee on Natural Resources," the association said in a statement." It is time for Congress to level the playing field and ensure US regulations no longer put American fishermen at a competitive disadvantage to Canada."
