ML061390429
| ML061390429 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Pilgrim |
| Issue date: | 03/31/2004 |
| From: | Michael Dean, Hoopes T, Lundy K State of MA, Div of Marine Fisheries |
| To: | Office of New Reactors |
| ALICIA WILLIAMSON 301-415-1878 | |
| Shared Package | |
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| References | |
| Download: ML061390429 (23) | |
Text
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Report TR-20 2002 Massachusetts Lobster Fishery Statistics Micah J. Dean, Kimberly A. Lundy and Thomas B. Hoopes Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Departme nt of Fish and Game Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Commonwealth of Massachusetts March 2004
Technical Report TR-20 2002 Massachusetts Lobster Fishery Statistics Micah J. Dean, Kimberly A. Lundy and Thomas B. Hoopes Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station 30 Emerson Ave.
Gloucester, MA 01930 March 2004 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Paul J. Diodati, Director Department of Fish and Game David M. Peters, Commissioner Executive Office of Environmental Affairs Ellen Roy Herzfelder, Secretary Commonwealth of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, Governor 0
0-
Introduction The commercial lobster fishery of Massachusetts is the most economically important fishery con-ducted within the territorial waters of the Common-wealth. The overall importance of the fishery both in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states has fo-cused the attention of federal, regional and state fishery managers on this species.
In the early 1970's, in an attempt to standardize management of the fishery, the federal and state governments devel-oped an overall lobster fishery management plan under the auspices of the State-Federal Fisheries Management Program. However, with the passage of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Man-agement Act in 1976, the New England Fisheries Management Council, in cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic Council, developed and implemented a management plan for the entire Atlantic Coast lob-ster fishery.
Today, the Interstate Fisheries Management Pro-gram (ISFMP) of the Atlantic States Marine Fisher-ies Commission (ASMFC) manages the fishery.
Lobster management was transferred to ASMFC in 1997. Recent information about Atlantic coast lob-ster stocks indicates that more controls on fishing effort are required to prevent further resource deple-tion and subsequent declines in landings. ASMFC has responded by developing a new Interstate Man-agement Plan for Atlantic Coast Lobster (FMP).
The plan has been modified several times since first being implemented in 1997. The most current revi-sion at the time these data were collected was Ad-dendum III, Amendment 3 (February, 2002).
The Commission's management plan introduced area management along the coast, with seven sepa-rate Lobster Management Areas (LMAs) from Maine to Maryland. Area designations were based primarily on the percent contribution from different stock components, but the manner in which the fish-eries have been prosecuted were also taken into con-sideration. Each area has been designated a Lobster Conservation Management Team (LCMT) com-posed of fishermen whose task it is to develop man-agement recommendations that -achieve the objec-tives of the plan.
Information provided by a peer-reviewed stock assessment in 2000 indicated a need for an increase in egg production across all Lobster Management Areas. To meet this requirement, ASMFC created a schedule of minimum gauge size increases through Addendum III to Amendment 3 of the FMP. At the end of 2002, the minimum gauge size was 3 1/4' for LMA 1, and 3 5/16" for LMAs 2,3, and Outer Cape (OC). The schedule calls for an increase of 1/32' per year in LMAs 2,3, and OC, until a final minimum size of 3 3/&" is reached in 2004.
Additional in-creases of 1/32 per year my be required, if neces-sary, for LMA 3 until a final minimum size of 3 1/2' is reached in 2008 The basis and success of any such management plan is an accurate statistical database. The Com-monwealth of Massachusetts, with funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service, has been collect-ing annual reports from licensed lobster fishermen since the early 1960's. In the past these data were used primarily for descriptive and informational purposes, and occasionally for management. With the emphasis on Federal management, however, these data have provided the respective management agencies with the information they need to protect the interests of Massachusetts' lobstermen and en-sure a productive fishery in the Commonwealth.
During the period 1975 - 1980, the number of coastal commercial lobster permits was limited by law to 1300, with an additional ten percent issued to proven hardship cases each year. In 1981, a statu-tory change mandated the establishment of a perma-nent waiting list from which 100 new permits were issued. Thirty special additional permits were also awarded to full-time commercial fishermen who met certain criteria. From 1982 to 1987, 80 list per-mits and 20 special additional permits were issued each year. In 1988, the issuance of new coastal per-mits was suspended. From 1988 to 1993, license transfers were allowed only within the immediate family, and if a license was allowed to expire, it was retired. In early 1993, a new regulation was prom-ulgated by the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) establishing broader eligibility criteria and new pro-cedures for the transfer of Coastal Commercial Lob-ster Permits.
As a result of these measures, the number of permits has declined from an all time high of 1,865 in 1988 to a more manageable 1,531 licenses today. The new system has also allowed for more orderly turnover in the industry. The new transfer procedures provide for transfer to employ-ees (captains, deck hands, etc.) and persons on an established waiting list in addition to transfers within the immediate family. Only those licenses that have been actively fished for four out of the past five years, according to catch reports filed with the Division, may be transferred.
The person to whom the permit is transferred must prove that he/
I
she has at least one year of experience in the com-mercial lobster pot fishery or two years of experi-ence in commercial fishing. All transferees must be owner/operators of the new business.
Transfer ac-tivity for calendar year 2002 is described on Page 5.
This report is the thirty-sixth annual publication of data compiled from the catch reports of licensed lobster fishermen. Data were presented in a stan-dardized format through 1979. In 1980, the presen-tation was enhanced as a result of improved collec-tion and analysis methods. This publication repre-sents the sixteenth year in which the data processing and analysis have been completely automated.
Areal data presented in this report conform to the National Marine Fisheries Service statistical report-ing areas. This report does not, however, cover the scope of the Project's existing database and compu-tational capability. Requests for expanded informa-tion, or questions concerning this publication, should be directed to the Division's MIS & Fisheries Statistics Project in Gloucester, MA: (978) 282-0308.
Methods Source of data "No person may fish for or take lobster in coastal waters or land lobster in the Commonwealth with-out a permit issued by the Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries." (Chapter 130, Mass. G.L.,
Section 38). Chapter 130, Mass. G.L., Section 33, requires any person so licensed to file an annual report of their catch by January 31 for the preceding calendar year. In 1980, a dual reporting system was established. Commercial lobstermen (coastal, off-shore and seasonal (student)) received a detailed catch report form with their license renewal applica-tion. This report, still used today, requests the fol-lowing information: method of fishing; number and type of gear used; effort data (set-over days, number of trips per month, etc.); pounds of lobster caught; areas fished; principal ports of landing; and infor-mation relative to the vessels and traps used in the fishery. Recreational fishermen are asked to report on their license renewal application form the num-ber of lobsters taken during the previous year, hours dived and the maximum number of traps fished.
Project personnel sort, edit, tabulate and interpret data from all reports received. Data presented in this publication are based on catch reports actually received as of March 2004. Late reports received beyond this point are not represented here but will be entered into our databases and accounted for in future publications.
Explanation of tables All data presented in this publication are broken down into two basic categories:
the first is "territorial" which represents data pertaining to all lobstering activity taking place within the territorial waters (3 mile line) of the Commonwealth (Areas 1-14 on Figure IA); the second is "non-territorial" which represents all data beyond those waters (Areas 15-25 on Figure IA). In 1990, the statistical reporting map was revised to reflect the territorial /
non-territorial breakdown and to conform to the Na-tional Marine Fisheries Service's statistical reporting areas. Figure IA shows the statistical reporting ar-eas used by the Division to collect most commercial fisheries data in the Commonwealth.
Figure lB indicates the Lobster Management Areas designated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commis-sion.
Tables presenting number of fishermen, number of pots fished, number and value of boats used in the fishery and total landings statewide, by county and license type, and for each city and town were prepared using the catch reports submitted by com-mercial fishermen. In keeping with Division policy some of the data are masked or combined to protect the confidentiality of the individual submitting the report. Data referring to the number of fishermen, number and value of gear, and number and value of boats are presented by the home port of the licensee filing the report. Pounds of lobster harvested are presented by the port of landing reported by the fishermen.
Vessel and SCUBA gear values were calculated on the basis of the fishermen's estimate of its pre-sent value and the percentage of the time it is in use specifically for lobstering.
When fishermen re-ported the number of lobsters taken, rather than poundage, a conversion factor of 1.27 pounds per lobster was used to calculate poundage figures.
This figure is based on information collected by the Division's Coastal Lobster Investigations Project.
For information on biological (average carapace length, sex ratios, percent of egg-bearing lobster in catch etc.) and other parameters (mortality, exploita-tion and catch per unit of effort rates) contact this Project in Pocasset, MA at (508) 563-1779.
Where tables refer to county, the reader is re-ferred to Figure 10.
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Results and Discussion Coastal lobster license transfer During 1993, the Division promulgated regula-tions to broaden the criteria for the transfer of a coastal lobster license from one individual to an-other. The intent of the new legislation was to cre-ate more options for lobstermen who wish to retire and leave this limited entry fishery. During calen-dar year 2002, the Division authorized the transfer of 43 coastal licenses. Sixteen of the transfers went to captains who were previously authorized to fish another holder's license and who had fished that holder's license for at least twelve months prior to the transfer. Twelve transfers were allowed within the holder's immediate family (and would have been allowed prior to the new regulation). Fifteen trans-fers were made directly from the holder to a stern-man with a documented fishing history. Eighteen licenses were forfeited to the Division in 2002.
None of these coastal lobster permits were issued directly to waiting list applicants.
Issued licenses and reporting status The Division of Marine Fisheries issues four types of lobster licenses:
Coastal Commercial: Allows the holder to harvest lobster anywhere, most importantly inside territorial waters.
Offshore Commercial: Allows the holder to harvest lobster outside territorial waters only.
Seasonal Commercial: Allows the holder, if he or she is a student, to harvest lobster any-where, but with a maximum of 25 traps and only during the months of June - September.
Recreational: Allows the holder to harvest lobster anywhere using SCUBA gear, a maxi-mum of 10 traps, or a combination of both. The catch may not be sold.
Table I lists the number of commercial and rec-reational licenses issued in 2002, the dollar value of fees collected and the number that reported catching lobster.
There were 2,184 commercial lobster li-censes issued during 2002: 1,531 coastal, 555 off-shore and 98 seasonal.
Non-commercial licenses issued totaled 11,950; breakdown of their reporting status and landings can be found in Table 6.
As of February, 2004 a total of 97 licensed com-mercial lobstermen (4.4 percent) failed to file a catch report with the Division. Of the 2,087 com-mercial fishermen who reported, 574 or 27.5 percent claimed they did not catch any lobster during 2002.
The number of coastal licenses issued continues to decline since a 1988 moratorium on the issuance of new licenses. The continued decline is driven by fishermen leaving the fishery and the Division's pol-icy to retire half of these licenses through attrition.
The number of offshore and seasonal licenses issued increased from 2001 by 4.7 and 2.1 percent, respectively.
Table 1. 2002 Massachusetts lobster fishery; reporting status of licenses issued License Type (Fee)
Coastal Coninrcial ($260)
Offshore Conas rcial ($260)
Seasonal (Student) Conamrcial ($65)
Non-Conirmrcial ($40)
Total licenses Issued 1,531 555 98 11,950 14,134 Licensing Revenue
$400,660
$173,940
$6,500
$481,520
$1,062,620 Reported "Catching Lobster" 1,084 71%
374 67%
55 56%
6,271 52%
7.784 55%
Reported "No Lobster Catch" 421 27%
137 25%
16 16%
2,713 23%
3,287 23%
Not Reporting 26 2%
44 8%
27 28%
2,966 25%
3,063 22%
5
Table 2. Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; selected licensing information, 1998-2002 Percent Five 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Year ChanW Q
Coastal licenses Issued
% Change "Caught Lobster"
% Change "Did Not Catch Lobster"
% Change Not Reporting
% Change Percent Not Reporting Offshore licenses Issued
% Change "Caught Lobster"
% Change "Did Not Catch Lobster"
% Change Not Reporting
% Change Percent Not Reporting Seasonal (Student) licenses Issued
% Change "Caught Lobster"
% Change "Did Not Catch Lobster"
% Change Not Reporting
% Change Percent Not Reporting 1,570 1,549
-1.34 1,161 1,121
-2.14 390 417 8.37 19 11
-41.32 1.21%
0.71%
529 536 1.32 352 350
-1.87 120 123 1.16 57 63 9.08 10.78%
11.75%
82 89 8.54 46 55 10.16 8
8
-7.87 28 26
-14.45 34.15%
29.21%
1,541
-0.52 1,125 0.88 399
-3.82 17 55.35 1.10%
534
-0.37 345
-1.06 129 5.27 60
-4.41 11.24%
92 3.37 53
-6.78 17 105.57 22
-18.14 23.91%
1,538
-0.19 1,098
-2.21 416 4A6 24 41.45 1.56%
530
-0.75 344 0.46 142 10.91 44
-26.11 8.30%
96 4.35 51
-7.78 14
-21.08 31 35.04 32.29%
1,531
-0A6 1,084
-0.82 421 1.66 26 8.83 1.70%
555 4.72 374 3.82 133
-10.56 48 4.18 8.65%
98 2.08 55 5.64 16 11.95 27
-14.68 27.55%
-2.48%
4.91%
19.51%
Note: All annual percentag changs are normalized to the number of licenses issued for each license type in each year.
6
Landings and value In 2002, 13,745,537 pounds of lobster were re-ported landed by commercial lobstermen in Massa-chusetts, a 9.91 percent increase from 2001. Based on an average price of $3.72 per pound, the com-mercial catch was valued at $51,133,397, a 11.76 percent increase from 2001.
Figure 2 shows the weighted ex-vessel price for 2002 as derived from audits of lobstermen's records. The weighted aver-age price of $3.72 decreased 0.53 percent over the average ex-vessel price paid in 2001 (Figure 2).
(Weighted price means that each price is weighted by the number of pounds that were paid at that price instead of taking a flat average of all prices).
Of the 13,745,537 pounds of lobster landed com-mercially, 8,172,984 were reported taken within the territorial waters of the Commonwealth.
In total pounds of lobster landed, Essex County continues to be ranked first, Plymouth County second and Barn-stable County third. See Table 3 for a breakdown of pounds landed and number of fishermen by license type and county and Table 4 for a five-year com-parison of selected landings and effort statistics.
Gloucester was the number one port in total pounds landed followed by New Bedford, Sand-wich, Fairhaven, and Plymouth in that order. In total numbers of active commercial fishermen, Es-sex County ranked first with 558, Plymouth County second with 277 and Bristol County third with 233.
Among the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, Gloucester ranked first in active fishermen followed by New Bedford, Plymouth and Rockport in that order. See Tables 3 and 5, (the shaded areas in Ta-ble 5 refer to the top 10 cities in at least one of the two categories: pounds landed and number of fisher-men).
Figure 2. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery weighted ex-vessel price derived from audited lobstermen's records
$6.00
$5.50
$5.00
- $ 4.50
$4.00
$3.50 S3.00 S2.50 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Doc Month 7
00 Table 3. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; number of fishermen, harvest (lbs.) and value of harvest AREA INSHORE(Areas
--14 O
R OFFSA ORE(Area 15.25)
UCENSETYPE:
COASTAL SEASONAL
-COASTAL-OFFSHORE SEASONAL Trawl/
TOTAL TmvVA TTrvV/
TOTAL GRAND G EARTYPE:
Dive Pots Dlined Coined*
Pots INSNHORE Pots Gililet Conbneed' Pots
_Cined Coirmed*
Pots OFFSHORE TOTAL BARNSTABLE Fisherme n
6 1
47 H
1 166+
1 0
a 34 54 220 Pounds 261610 94 3,004 1,4S3 970, 595 242,41 712,077 41,416 1,000.56 0
2,971,156 Value ()
7666 65 3,526573 5,444 3,610,615 9
1,796 2,648,926 154,06 8 3,722,085 7,332,700 BRISTOL Fishermun 70 73+
12 13 134 160+
233 Pounds 296,405 296,940 27,685 601.910 437,957 2,312,623 0 2609,562 Value (S) 1,102,625 1,104,615 1,014,390 2,239,21 0
2,629,2 0
4,8 32,957 5,987,572 DUKES Fishermen 25 26 +
4 8
34 Pounds 7 2,477 72,5 52 17,471 25,309 9 7,861 Value (S) 269,615 269,894 64,992 94,1 1
364,045 ESSEX Fisherme n
395 3
8 33 437 32 5
3 3
73 Iis+
555 Pounds 3,470,329 849 801263 5,9 23 3,557,25 4 1,040,78 2 9,427 96,423 276,577 103,5 5 2,527,129 5
,084,38 3 ValueV(S) (23 99.623 3,259 298,2 06 21,996 13,232,984 3,871,704 35,,06 8 358,694 2,0286 5 38 5,373 5,680,921 1 8,913,904 NANTUCKET Fishesus 5
5 2
7 Pounds 3,182 3,882 41,208 45,090 Value (S) 14,440 14,44 153,294 1
67,734 NORFOLK Fishermnn 47 47 1+
48 Pounds 437,298 437,298 90,66 3 527,966 Value (S) 1 626,747 1,626,747 337,2tS 1,964,032 PLYIOU'TH Fishenr en 229 7
241 25 4
5 7
32+
273 Pounds 2 28, 29 797 2,00Q 2,294,628 450,070 27,467 44, 248 23 514,224 2,80 3,852 value ( )
84 5 0,884 3,750 3,536,017 1,674,2 60 64,977 164,231 8,723 1,912,9 13 10,448,930 SUFFOLK Fisherman 46 47+
3 23 27 +
74 Pounds 489943 439,966 466,905 132,481 646,374 1,136,340 Value (S) 1,S 22,589 1,822,675 1,714,567 492,329 2,404,511 4,227,16 STATETOTAL Fishermen 3+
964 7+
11+
52+
1,042 72 +
II+
3 37 +
274 +
2+
3+
402 1,444 Po unds 20,9 30 8,005,133 6,210 81,816 3,976 3,123,115 2,106,031 27,010 96,423 2,203,755 719,706 4,649 5 21 5,15 3,096 1 3,281,211 Value(S) 78,044 29,779,095 23,101 304,354 33,392 30,217,986 7,t34,437 100,477 353,694 8,197,969 2,677,308 17,294 1,938 19,33,11 49,406,103 OUT OF STATE Fishe~n nn 0
6 52 53 5 3 Pounds o
315,932 148.394 464,32 6
464,32 V lue(S) 1,175,267 552,026 1,727,293 1,727,293
- Combined gear type means the use ofnmore than one gear type inna year (i.e. pots & dive)
+ Row and column totals ansy not equal the sum of the iows or columns due to masking of the data.
Value is based on an ex-vessel puice of 53.72, see Figure 2.
C7 C
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Table 4. Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; Selected landings (Ibs.) and effort statistics, 1998-2002 Percent Five Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Change Total Landings 13,247,727 15,911,082 15,031,538 12,233,607 13,745,537 3.76 Percent Change 20.10
-5.53
-18.61 12.36 Total Traps Fished 503,501 498,497 482,218 473,898 507,613 0.82 Percent Change
-0.99
-3.27
-1.73 7.11 Total Value S47,956,773 S59,507,447 S54,865,114 S45,753,690
$51,133,396 6.62 Percent Change 24.09
-7.80
-16.61 11.76 Landings 7,523,578 9,607,646 9,859,453 7,171,821 8,172,984 8.63 Percent Change 27.70 2.62
-27.26 13.96 Value S27,235,353
$35,932,595
$35,987,002
$26,822,609
$30,403,502 11.63 Percent Change 31.93 0.15
-25.47 13.35 Trap Landings 7,504,488 9,593,457 9,837,213 7,160,216 8,143,649 8.52 Percent Change 27.84 2.54
-27.21 13.73 Traps Fished 367,957 375,023 382,711 370,907 407,039 10.62 Percent Change 1.92 2.05
-3.08 9.74 Non-Trap Landings 19,090 14,189 22,240 11,605 29,336 53.67 (GiUnet, Diver)
-25.67 56.74
-47.82 152.78 Landing%
5,724,149 6,303,436 5,172,085 5,061,787 5,572,552
-2.65 Percent Change 10.12
-17.95
-2.13 10.09 Value
$20,721,421
$23,574,851
$18,878,111
$18,931,082
$20,729,894 0.04 Percent Change 13.77
-19.92 0.28 9.50 Trap Landings 5,065,212 5,602,287 4,468,805 4,293,430 4,667,084
-7.86 Percent Change 10.60
-20.23
-3.92 8.70 Traps Fished 135,544 123,474 99,507 102,991 100,574
-25.80 Percent Change
-8.90
-19.41 3.50
-2.35 Non-Trap Landings 658,938 701,149 703,280 768,357 905,468 37.41 (Gillnet, Trawler) 6.41 0.30 9.25 17.84 Average Price ($) / Lb
$3.62
$3.74 S3.65
$3.74
$3.72 Percent Change 3.31
-2.41 2.47
-0.53 Ave. Lbs. /Trap-Haul 0.6616 0.8210 0.7762 0.6697 0.6996 Percent Change 24.09
.5.45
-13.73 4.47 Ave. Lbs. I Trap 24.96 30.48 29.67 24.17 25.24 Percent Change 22.11
-2.68
-18.53 4.42 9
Table 5. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; number of active commercial fishermen and landings by homeport Does not include seasonal (student) licenses FISHRMEN POUNDS-CITY/TOWN lNUMER lRANK INSHORE I OFFSHORE lTOTAL PERCENT RANKC ARESBURY-NEBJVBRY-ROWLEY
-3 48 3,1711
° 3,171 0.02%1 47 BARNSTABLE-YARMOUTH 7
8 33 24,3201 265,1971 289,51il 2.18%1 16 BO E41 46 9511 0
951 0.01%
48 20 23 31,496 33,203 64,699 0.49%
30 OO
__33 15 300,119 41,298 341,417 2.57%
13 DANVERS 8
33 56,392 0
56,392 0.42%
34 DARTMOU'rH 9
31 14,663 0
14,663 0.11%
46 SD-NNIS_
17 24 59,495 0
59,495 0.45A 32 EDGARTOVWN-OAK BLUFS 3
48 750 0
750 0.01%
49 ESSEX 6
42 22,547 5,736 28,283 0.21%
38 FAR-IAVE 40 11 190,812 116,160 306,972 2.31%
14 FALMOM 12 28 28,341 16,725 45,066 0.34%
36 GOSN0LD 4
46 14,619 1,585 16,203 0.12%
44 HARMCH 6
42 7,331 18,735 26,066 0.20%
39 HNGHAM 13 26 195,167 26,546 221,713 1.67%
19 6,LL 24 19 2183761 53,860 272,621 2.053 12 27S7 13
,I 34 367, 0
340367 0.26%
1 K7GSTON DUXURY 8
39 57, 34 2 57,641 0.434%
33 LYNI__
42 71,490 58154 76,579 0.587%
26 MACEE26 1 8 224,610 22,364 246,974 1.86%
18 MAFOISE 12 25 7,
63 1736,978 1.19%
24 NAAT27 16 271,01 4
32,1531 303,167l 2.28 V
NANTUCKET 7
39 5,591 39,499 45,090 0.34§ 351 NBNBLURYPOXRT 23 21 79,0831 17,851 96,935 0.73%2 ORLEANS 21 22 152,257 5,33_
157,596 1,19o/
35 14 153,161 10,049 163,210 1.23%
23 7
1 23,309 0
23,309 0.18%
40
-LM--5
-45 18,712 O18,712}
0.14%
l 42 SALISBURY 9
31 7,350 12,184 19,534 0.15%
41 SAUGU&FEERE 27 16 213,732l 4,907 218,639 1.65%
20 SWAMPSCOTT 24 19 166,381 18,273 184,654 1.39%
21 TISBIRY 7
39 15,396 738 16,135 0.12%
45 TRURO10 30 59,532 400 59,932 0.45%
31 WARE-AM-MARION 8
33 16,979 0
16,979 0.13%
43 WELLFLBET-EASTHAM 03 76,381 76,381 0.58%
29 WEYMOUTH 8
71,000 92,239 163,240 1.23%1 22 WINTIROP 17 24 77,029 1,441 78,470 0.59%
27 STATEWDETOTAL 1,400 8,164,173 5,107,540 13,271,713 OUU OF STATE 58 0
464,326 464,326 Shaded areas denote towns which rank in the top 10 for number of fishermen or total landings or both.
Certain cities and towns are combined to protect the confidential nature of the data.
10
Recreational lobster fishery Recreational statistics are shown in Table 6. Li-censes issued in 2002 totaled 11,950, down slightly from 2001, with 6,271 or 52.5 percent, reporting that they fished for lobster. In general, reporting rate and the percentage of license holders fishing decreased slightly. Landings decreased by approxi-mately 4.9 percent from 2001. The number of traps fished decreased by 4.8 percent and the number of hours dived decreased by 10.4 percent. Landings amounted to 279,147 pounds or approximately 2 percent of the commercial landings.
It should be noted that those individuals who did not report, were not able to renew their recreational license for 2003.
Twenty-five percent of the licenses in the recreational fishery have turned over in the past year; historically, this turn-over rate is not unusual.
Table 6. 2002 Massachusetts recreational lobster fishery; license status and harvest information Percent of License Type:
Diver Diver/Pot Potman Total Total Number of Licenses Issued in 2002 3,556 3,655 4,739 11,950 Number that Reported 2,588 2,806 3,590 8,984 75.18%
Total Number That Fished 1,779 1,897 2,595 6,271 52.48%
Total Number That Did Not Fish 809 909 995 2,713 22.70%
Number That Did Not Report 968 849 1,149 2,966 24.82%
percent change Number of Lobsters Reported Landed 33,492 66,968 119,341 219,801 from 2001 Pounds of Lobsters (Calculated)*
42,535 85,049 151,563 279,147 4.900/o Number Pots Fished 7,245 19,054 26,299
-4.84%
Number of Hours DAvng 25,229 23,143 48,372
-10.40%
- Based on 1.27 Pounds per Lobster.
11
Territorial fishery Territorial landings by commercial fishermen were concentrated in the months of July through November when 79 percent; of the yearly harvest was landed. A typical yearly sce-nario is for catches to increase sometime in mid to late July and peak in August and September.
Water temperatures rise during this time inducing growth and subsequent recruitment of previously sub-legal lobsters into the legal size category.
The bulk of 2002 landings were distributed July through November with peak landings occurring in September (Table 7; Figure 3). Landings in 2002 differed slightly from 2001 where the peak occurred in October rather than September.
The greatest harvest of lobster from territorial waters came from the Cape Ann vicinity (Area 2 on Figure IA), where approximately 22 percent of the state's territorial harvest was caught.
Territorial landings were up 8.63 percent in 2002. See Figure IA for the map of fishing areas and Figure 4 and Table 8 for a complete break-Table 7. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; percent monthly territorial harvest by license type.
Month Coastal Seasonal January 2.2%
0.0%/O February 0.8%
0.0%
March 0.90/O 0.0%/0 April 2.1%
0.0%
May 3.1%
0.0%/0 June 7.6%
15.8%
July 14.5%
38.5%
August 15.4%
32.4%
September 19.1%
13.3%
October 17.8%
0.0%
November 12.3%
0.0O/o December 4.3%
0.0%/o Total 100.0%/0 100.00%
Q Figure 3. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery total monthly territorial harvest for coastal and seasonal license types 2
Total Terniorial Harvest = 8,172,984 lbs.
19.1%
1.5 -
17.8%
0 I
15.4%
14.5%
12.3%
I-7.7%
I 0.5 -
0*
3.1%
2.2%
2.0%
J 4.3%
a 0.8%
0.9M Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month 12
Table 8. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fish-ery; percent territorial harvest by area and license type Area Coastal Seasonal 1
5.0%
44.7%
2 22.0%/a 23.7%
3 12.2%
1.2%
4 18.7%
3.8%
5 9.7%
1.3%
6 6.6%
8.3%
7 5.6%
12.6%
8 9.2%
O.0%/o 9
4.0%
2.4%
10 0.5%
0.0%
11 0.0/0 O.O/o 12 2.1%
0.0%/a 13 2.6%
0.2%
14 1.6%
1.8%
Total Pounds 8,164,008 8,976 down by area for each license type and month.
Offshore license landings are not shown in Figures 3 and 4 because license holders of this type cannot harvest lobsters within territorial wa-ters. Offshore landings are more evenly distrib-uted during the year with offshore potmen land-ings peaking in autumn and mobile gear land-ings peaking in the winter months.
Figure 5 shows the distribution of all lobster landings by statistical reporting area.
Some misreporting has occurred in the past due to lobstermen reporting by Lobster Manage-ment Area as opposed to Statistical Reporting Area, thereby artificially inflating landings in Reporting Areas 1, 2 and 3. However, we feel this problem has been minimized for the 2002 data, due to redesigned catch reports and visual screening of effort data prior to data entry.
Figure 4. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery total territorial harvest for coastal and seasonal license types by area fished 2
1.5 22.0%
18.7%
Total Tenitoriil Harvest = 8,172,984 bs.
'0 4m I-9.7%
9.2%
9.7%
0.5 J 5.0%
5.6%
4.0%
2-1%.
2.6%
a_
A0/0 025% 0
- 1 3
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10 I11 12 13 14 0
Area 13
Figure 5. 2002 Massachusetts lobster fishery; landings by statistical reporting area (see Figure IA for references to reporting areas)
ME Landings (Ibs)
ME 0-200,000 200 000 - 400,000 400,000-600,000 600,000- 1000,000 1,O000000-I1,800,000 2
6 Mle ia7 14
Catch rates The average catch per trap haul for coastal lob-stermen was 0.6624 pounds. For traps fished one set-over day the average was 0.3749; for those fished two days, 0.5065; for three days, 0.6045; and for four days, 0.6578. See Figure 6 for catch per unit effort by set-over day.
Figures 7 and 8 show the average catch per trap-haul - set-over day for area fished and month, where set-over day is factored into the effort. The average catch per trap haul - set-over day for all potmen in 2002 was 0.1675. Overall these figures should be viewed as approximates since, in many cases, fish-ermen will estimate the number of traps hauled per trip for each month. If a fisherman left this informa-tion blank, the catch report was returned for correc-tions. If the combination of maximum traps, set-over days, average traps hauled per trip and number of trips per month was an unreasonable or unattain-able value, the individual's data was omitted from the catch rate calculation.
In some instances, where the number of obser-vations in a particular break-down of the data is small, exceptionally high or low values have a large influence on the calculated CPUE.
For instance, only 1 individual fished their gear for 11 set-over-days (Figure 6), and only 1 individual reported fish-ing in area 11 (Figure 8)
Figure 6. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; catch per unit of effort (pounds per trap-haul) by set-over day for coastal and offshore potmen 7.5 7.0 -
6.5 -
6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 Coastal Potmen
-L-Offshore Potncn 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
Set-Over Days 10 11 12 13 14 15+
15
Figure 7. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; catch per unit of effort (pounds per trap-haul
- set-over-day) for coastal and offshore potmen by month 0.40 0.35
, 0.30 b 0.25
- c 0.20 S..
E! 0.15 r 0.10 0.05 0.00 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month Ie 0
C,)
0.
0 Figure 8. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; catch per unit of effort (pounds per trap-haul
- set-over-day) for all license types by area fished 0.7 Areas 1-14 = Massachusetts Territorial Waters 0.6 See Figure IA for Map 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2U 0iii
(%m,.J U.u 1
2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 Area Fished 16
Fishing gear, vessels, and value In the commercial fishery, traps were valued at
$30,312,407, diving gear at $35,020 and power and non-power boats at $62,753,898 yielding a total gear value of $93,101,325. Combined with the ex-vessel value of lobster sold, $51,133,397, this gives a total fishery value of $144,234,722. See Tables 9, 10 and 11.
Overall, 92.20 percent of the traps fished in the commercial fishery were wire framed, with 6.82 percent being wooden framed and approximately 0.97 percent categorized as "other". Average value (including warp and buoy) ranged anywhere from
$40.50 to $164.00 with an overall average value of
$59.72. See Table 9.
Table 9. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; trap types fished and value by license type Wooden Framed Traps Value Value/Trap Wire Framed Traps Value Value/Trap Coastal 31,585
$1,684,156
$57.60 428,150
$24,224,890
$57.13 Offshore 3,008
$333,861
$121.33 Seasonal 47
$1,693
$40.50 Total for Trap Type 34,640
$2,019,710
$58.31 Percent of Total 6.82%
92.20%
38,796 1,097 468,043
$3,700,344
$48,193
$27,973,427
$85.95
$45.87
$59.77 Other Trap Types Value Value/iTrap 1,710
$103,750
$58.75 3,220
$215,520
$164.00 0
$0
$0.00 4,930
$319,270
$64.76 0.97%
Total for License Type Value Value/Trap 461,445
$26,012,796
$56.37 45,024
$4,249,725
$94.39 1,144
$49,886
$43.61 507,613
$30,312,407
$59.72 Value of trap includes warp and buoy. These figures include out-of-state fishermen.
17
Table 10. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; number of fishing vessels and pots fished AREA:
INSHORE(Areas I-41h OFFSHORE(Areas 15-25)
UCENSETYPE
-- COASTAL SEASONAL
-COASTAL-_
-OFFSHORE--
SEASONAL TrawV TOTAL TrawV TrawU TOTAL GRAND GEARTYPE Dive Pots Ofinet Combined Pots INSHORE Pots Ollinet Conbined' Pots (iilnet Cotabined' Pots OFFSHORE TOTAL
-COUNTY-BARNSTABLE Pots Fished 0
57,387 0
IS 237 57,639 6.765 0
0 10.7C 0
550
-0 18,015 75,654 PowerBoat 6
163 1
0 0
180 14 0
0 9
34 2
0 59 239 Non Power Boat 2
41 1
0 0
44 9
0 0
0 1
0 0
10 54 BRISTOL Pots Fished 0
23,437 0
0 49 23,486 84162 0
0 14,137 0
0 0
22,299 45,71S PowerBoat 0
75 1
0 2
78 12 1
0 13 112 0
0 138 216 Non Power Boat 0
2 0
0 0
2 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
2 DUKES Pots Fished 0
5,820 0
0 20 5,840 450 0
0 1.125 0
0 0
1,575 7,415 Power Boat 0
26 0
0 3
27 I
3 0
4 2
0 0
8 35 Non Power Boat 0
2 0
0 0
2 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 2
ESSEX Pots Fished 0
157,508 0
3,845 631 163,984 23,510 0
2,4W 4,40 0
0 43 30,353 192,337 PowerBoat 0
428 3
9 31 471 35 5
3 3
70 0
3 117 588 Non PowerBoat 0
109 I
I 3
112 2
0 0
0 0
0 0
2 114 NANTUCKET Pots Fished 0
876 0
0 0
876 800 0
0 0
0 0
0 800 1,676 Power Boat 0
7 0
0 0
7 2
0 0
0 I
0 0
3 0
Non Power Boat 0
2 0
0 0
2 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
2 NORFOLK(
Pots Fished 0
20Q242 0
0 0
20,242 0
0 0
I.8W 0
0 0
1,800 22,042 Power Boat 0
55 0
0 0
SS 0
0 0
I 0
0 0
1 56 Non Powerboat 0
13 0
0 0
13 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 13 PLYMOUTH Pots Fished 0
332,563 0
650 139 113,352 11,595 0
1,636 0
0 25 13,256 126,608 Power Boat 2
274 2
1 7
286 22 4
0 5
7 0
1 39 325 Non Power Boat 0
52 0
0 0
52 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 52 SUFFOLK Pots Fished 0
23.620 0
0 0
23,620 I,8W 0
0 4,386 0
0 0
6,186 29,806 PowerBoat 1
48 0
0 0
49 I
0 0
3 22 0
0 26 75 Non Power Boat 0
7 0
0 0
7 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 7
STATETOTAL Pots Flsbed 0
401,453 0
4,510 1,076 407,039 53,082 0
2,400 38,184 0
550 68 94,284 501,323 Power Boat 9
1,076 7
10 5S 1,153 87 11 3
38' 248 2
2 391 1,544 Non Power Boat 2
228 2
1 1
234 11 0
1 0
0 0
12 246 OUT OF STATE Pots Fished 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 6,290 0
0 6,290 6,290 Power Boat 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 6
53 0
57 57 Non Power Boat 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
' Combined gear type ineans the use of more than one gear type in a year (i.e. pots & dive)
C C
C
C
(
C Table 11. 2002 Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery; value of fishing vessels and diving gear AREA INSHORE(Areas I -I OFFSHORE(Aream 15-25)
UCENSETYPE COASTAL SEASONAL
-COASTAL-OFFSHORE-SEASONAL Trawlt TOTAL TrawV TrawVi TOTAL GRAND GEARTYPE Dive Pots Gillnet Conbined' Pots INSHORE Pots GWlht Coitined' Pots Gilnet Conbined' Pots OFFSHORE TOTAL
-OOUNTY--
BARNSTABLE DivingGear 12,600 9.250 0
0 0
21,850 12 0
0 0
0 0
0 12 21,862 Power Boat 57.950 4,990.930 50,000 0
65,M 5,164,130 1,045,450 0
0 2,702,620 715,900 31,250 0
4,495,220 9,6S9,350 Non Power Boat 345 14.013 500 0
0 14,858 2,715 0
0 0
10 0
0 2,725 17,S83 BRISTOL Diving Gear 0
0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0
Power Boat 0
2,302,345 5.00D 0
5.650 2,312,995 915.000 3,000 0
2.625,000 1,216,22 0
0 4,759,223 7,072,223 Non PowerBoat 0
200 0
0 0
200 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
200 DUKES DivingGear 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
PowerBoat 0
S2S.150 0
0 7.600 835,750 40,000 3,000 0
146.500 4,500 0
0 194,000 1,029,750 Non Power Boat 0
325 0
0 0
325 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
325 ESSEX DivingGear 0
6.505 0
0 0
6,505 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 6,505 Power Boat 0
14812,322 12,350 347,500 199,625 15,371,797 3.528.500 60,000 190,000 1,010,0C0 713,775 0
4,900 5,507,175 20,878,972 Non Power Boat 0
49,860 0
400 0
50,260 500 0
0 0
0 0
0 500 50,760 NANTUCKET DivingGear 0
1,000 0
0 0
1,000 0
0 0
0 0
00 1,000 Power Boat 0
153,500 0
0 0
153,500 125,000 0
0 0
25,0D0 0
0 150,000 303,500 Non Power Boat 0
950 0
0 0
950 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 950 NORFOLK DivingGear 0
20 0
0 0
20 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 20 Power Boat 0
2,033.400 0
0 0
2,033,400 0
0 0
54,0D0 0
0 0
54,000 2,037,400 Non Power Boat 0
4,750 0
0 0
4,750 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
4,750 PLYMLOUTH Diving Gear 2,700 933 0
0 0
3,633 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 3,633 Power Boat 17,800 10,737,650 13,0C0 20.000 15,650 10,804,100 2,017,90D 78,500 0
142,500 57,400 0
0 2,296,300 13,100,400 Non Power Boat 0
32,585 0
0 0
32,585 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 32,585 SUFFOLK Diving Gear 2,000 0
0 0
0 2,000 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
2,000 Power Boat 20,000 2,042,050 0
0 0
2,062,050 250,000 0
0 400,000 3,432,750 0
0 4,082,750 6,144,800 Non Power Boat 0
3,700 0
0 0
3,700 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 3,700 STATETOTAL Divnag Gear 17,300 17,708 0
0 0
35,008 12 0
0 0
0 0
0 12 35,020 Power Boat 95,750 37,900,347 80,350 367,500 293,775 38,737,722 7,921,850 144,500 190,000 7,080,620 6,165,553 31,250 4,900 21,533,673 60,276,395 No Power Boat 345 106,383 500 400 0
107,628 3,215 0
0 0
to 0
322 110,853 OUT OF STATE Diving Gear 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
Power Boat 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 1.445,000 921,650 0
2,366,650 2,366,650 Non PowerBoat 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
(
' Conbined gear type neans the use of more than one gear type in a year (ie. pots & dive)
0 Validity of data Each year 150 coastal license holders are se-lected for audit and asked to submit the records they used to complete the harvest portion of their catch report. The Division does this to help estimate the amount of error involved in the reporting process.
Selection is done randomly except when fishermen fail an audit. In these cases, they are audited again the following year. The audit was first instituted in 1977 for the 1976 catch reports. Over the last five years the lobstermen selected for audit reported landing 7,748,868 pounds. The audit of their re-cords revealed a harvest of 7,710,381 pounds or a difference of 0.50 percent.
Last year the fishermen selected for audit re-ported harvesting 1,334,431 pounds of lobster on their 2002 catch reports. The audit of actual records showed total landings of 1,321,170 pounds, a differ-ence of 13,261 pounds or 1.00 percent. Three of the randomly selected fishermen have yet to respond to the audit request. Figure 9 shows the distribution of the percent difference between the selected fisher-men's reported catch and their audited records. In general, reported landings are very well documented by dealer receipts and/or personal records, espe-cially by the so-called "high-liners" in the fishery.
Most of the lobstermen have had licenses for several years and know what is required in terms of report-ing their fishing activities and have been informed of the value of accurate reporting in the develop-ment of management plans. They also know that their reported information is kept strictly confiden-tial and published only in aggregate form. These factors all contribute to a conscientious and respon-sible reporting constituency.
Acknowledgements This report has been prepared by personnel of the Division of Marine Fisheries Information Systems and Fisheries Statistics Project, funded jointly by the Commonwealth and the National Marine Fisher-ies Service under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (Public Law 11-407; Project IJ-NA03NMF4070141). The preparation of this report would not have been possible without the coopera-tion of licensed lobstermen who provided the infor-mation on their annual reports. Special thanks go to Beth Shanks who, with special care and accuracy, interprets and keypunches the type of reports that fishermen are likely to fill out. The authors also wish to acknowledge the assistance of Kerry Swal-low and Kevin Creighton from our permitting of-fice.
Figure 9. Massachusetts commercial lobster fishery frequency; distribution of the percent difference be-tween fishermen's reported 2002 catch and their audited records.
40(
Q 35 -
30 -
25 -
0= 20 -
15 -
10 -
5-`
Overal percent difference = 0.34%
Under - reported Over - reported I
1111 1111 I 1III I.,1,..
1l a
I I I
0 Of,
,~
flf.111
-90
-70
-50
-30
-10 Percent Difference 10 30 50 20
t Figure 10. Coastal Map of Massachusetts Showing County Boundaries Diwiion of Marine Fished" A
I d0 Town Border SUFOL erima eorn ra M
llX'I 14 1
t 13 I
12 ~
21