Text 14940, 72 rader
Skriven 2014-07-20 12:46:00 av FRED A BALL (1:123/140)
Ärende: Lobsters
================
Maine lobster fishing season off to slow start


ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — The cold winter is still being felt in the
waters off Maine, where the nation's largest lobster fishery is
off to a slow start.

The season typically picks up after the bulk of the lobster population
sheds its shells and reaches legal harvesting size. That occurred in
late June last year and mid-June in 2012, but state officials and
lobstermen say it hasn't happened yet this year, leading to small catches.

State lobster biologist Carl Wilson said the cold winter and spring
may have held back molting. Some lobstermen and buyers are reporting
catches half the size they saw at this time last year.

Prices of lobster are up slightly from last year amid the decline in catch,
Maine Import Export Lobster Dealers' Association's President Tim Harkins
said. The value of last year's lobster fishery was $2.89 per pound, the
second lowest figure in the past 18 years.

Molting could start happening "any day now," Wilson said, adding that this
year's molt appears similar to what the state typically experienced 10
years ago. The last two years — which brought record catches of more
than 125 million pounds of lobster each — were seasons that featured
an early molt, he said.

Wilson and lobstermen said they expect the season to take off after shedding
and to end up as a strong one.

"The trend has been earlier and earlier each year," Wilson said. "It's not when
they start, it's where they end up."

Lobsters molt so they can grow into new, larger shells, often shedding 25 or
more times in the first five to seven years of life. After that, adult males
molt about once per year and females once every two years. They can be
legally harvested in Maine once their carapace reaches 3 1/4 inches long.
A recently molted lobster, which has a soft shell, is typically called
a "shedd" by Maine lobstermen and savvy consumers.

The state's lobster industry, which accounted for 85 percent of the nation's
catch in 2012, has boomed, topping a record $364 million in 2013. The
abundance of lobsters has sparked tensions between the industry players
in the U.S. and Canada, where Canadian fishermen blockaded truckloads of
Maine lobsters from processing plants in 2012 because of falling
wholesale price

David Cousins, president of the Maine Lobstermen's Association and a
South Thomaston lobsterman, said lobstermen expect shedding to pick up
and catches to escalate at the end of this month, if not the end of the
week. He said the slow season indicates that Maine lobster are "back on
 the old time clock" of shedding later in the summer.

Rockland lobster dealer Jamie Steeves said he also expects the season to
pick up soon, but he added the slow start has been a pain for an industry
that grew accustomed to early starts and huge catches in 2012 and 2013.
However, he said, it's not time to panic.

"Lobsters will take care of themselves," he said. "It's going to be a
normal year."

Harkins, of the dealers' group, also remained confident.

"This is more representative of a traditional lobstering season,"
Harkins said. "The lobsters will come."


Hope this is enlightning for all....

 * OLX 2.1 TD * Suitable for mixed,slightly twisted, and confused company
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Fidonet Since 1991 bbs.docsnetservices.com (1:123/140)