Maine’s Commercial Lobster Industry Essay -- Business Essays

Maines Commercial Lobster Industry SummaryScientists predict a major population crash of Maine lobsters in the near future, due to over-harvesting, increasing demand, and a lack of successful regulatory measures reflecting such factors. The attempt to introduce various indemnity measures creating more limited access to the resource has been largely ineffective due to the unique ecological, economic, and social characteristics of the state. Further complicating the issue is the matter of thriving lobster populations during recent old age when other marine wildlife populations are experiencing severe losses along the same region of the eastern seaboard. This paper examines the conflict between lobster fishermen, scientists, and policy makers regarding attempts to work toward a more sustainable lobster fishing industry. IntroductionThe issue of Maine lobster fishing is an ideal case illustrating the challenge of the tragedy of the commons, since the lobsters belong to no one until ca ught. They experience been harvested commercially in New England (the birthplace of the nations fisheries) since the 1800s. At that time, they were so plentiful they could be caught by hand or, with less hazard (because the bonny lobster was so large), with a gaff, a pole with a large hook stuck in the end (Formisano, 13). Since the early 19th century, the industry adopted more economic techniques (such as the use of lobster pots, or traps, and boats that could carry lobsters over longer distances) to capture more lobsters faster. This led to a significant population decline by the slowly 1800s, prompting the first lobster regulation (prohibiting the harvesting of egg-bearing females). Lobster populations remained relatively st... ...Globe 4 Mar. 1995 14Larabee, John, and Richard Price. Tide of Troubles has Fish Industry Reeling/ Crisis Caused by Pollution, Development, Over-Fishing. USA Today 10 Mar. 1994 9ALibby, Sam. hard to Save the Lobster Population. The New York Times 2 3 Jan. 1994 6McQuaid, John. Seafood for Thought. The Times-Picayune 24 Mar. 1996 A38Nifong, Christina. Plan for Preserving Lobster Population Stirs Storm in Maine. 5 June 1996 4 Schneider, Jan. The Gulf of Maine Case The genius of an Equitable Result. American Journal of International Law 793 (July 1985) 539-577. U.S. General Accounting Office. Commercial Fisheries Entry of Fishermen Limits Benefits of Buyback Programs. Washington Government printing Office, 2000. Woodard, Colin. A Run on the Banks How Factory Fishing Decimated Newfoundland Cod. E Magazine Mar/Apr 2001