Posted by Brad on January 29, 2002 at 04:31:21:
Bill would allow recreational scuba divers to harvest lobster
Source: OnlineMariner
Publication date: 2002-01-25
Seacoast Newspapers
CONCORD, N.H. (Jan. 24) The House Fish and Game Committee got a lesson in the realities of lobstering Tuesday from a number of Seacoast fishermen who testified against legislation that would allow scuba divers to infringe on their businesses.
"Lobsters are cheaper than they have been in a year," said lobsterman Tom Flanagan of Rye. "To see this bill proposed being open-ended on take (how many lobsters can be harvested by a diver) is mind-boggling."
House Bill 1178, sponsored by Rep. Michael Harrington, R-Barrington, would permit a scuba diver engaged in a recreational activity to catch lobsters for personal consumption and for that of family and friends. It is an activity that is currently specifically prohibited by state law.
"Presently, recreation lobstering is limited to the use of traps, which, for all practical purposes, requires owning a seaworthy boat," Harrington, a diver himself, testified. "Allowing the taking of lobsters by divers would provide the opportunity to non-boat owners to also share in this common resource."
Harrington told committee members that divers in Massachusetts account for less than 1 percent of the lobster take in that state. He noted they barely made an impact on the resources available for commercial lobstermen.
However, Rep. Jane Langley, R-Rye Beach, who testified against the bill, said she believed the situation was different in New Hampshire.
"I can't envision our 18 miles of coast being invaded by scuba divers looking for lobster," Langley said. "It may not make an impact on Massachusetts, but it will impact New Hampshire."
Lobsterman Bob McDonough of Portsmouth agreed.
"People should have more respect for us and let us make a living," he told the committee.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department also voiced objections to Harrington's bill.
John Nelson, chief of Marine Fisheries, noted that federal and state regulations have already reduced the catch of lobsters on the East Coast.
"Lobsters are not an unlimited resource," he told the committee. "Any added effort to harvest the resource is problematic."
Nelson also said that because of the masks divers wear, it is difficult to judge the size of a lobster, which would make it easy for divers to pick up undersized crustaceans. He also said that the resource can be damaged because most diving in this region is done during the summer when lobsters are shedding and particularly vulnerable.
The state fisheries chief also mentioned that conflicts could arise between divers and those lobstermen who believe their livelihoods are being threatened. That concern was echoed by Flanagan.
"There are going to be conflicts," the lobsterman said. "Now, when lobstermen see divers they give them the benefit of the doubt, but if this law is passed that could change."
"People are going to get hurt," Flanagan said. "People are going to get killed."
The committee will review the testimony received Tuesday and decide shortly whether to recommend passage of the bill to the entire House. If the House passes the legislation, it will go on to the Senate and from there to the governor for her approval.
Publication date: 2002-01-25